When Beyoncé and Jay-Z sought to trademark firstborn daughter Blue Ivy’s name soon after her birth in 2012, it seemed a standard case of savvy celebrity parenting—after all, Blue was basically born famous. But what the Carters likely didn’t expect was to end up in a protracted legal battle with a Boston-based events company of virtually the same name, founded three years prior.
As reported by Complex, the Carters were denied their initial trademark application for “Blue Ivy Carter,” which they’d purportedly considered using for a number of products, when a judge sided with event planner Veronica Morales, who felt it too similar to her already existing Blue Ivy Events. Almost seven years later, the suit continues, with the Carters refiling in 2016, Morales serving Beyoncé a deposition notice in 2017 (via The Blast), and 2018 allegations that Morales offered the Carters the option of acquiring both her business and trademark and then collaborating with her on a product line—for a cool $10 million. As The Blast reported:
Bey’s team says during the meeting, Morales’ counsel “gave a long speech” about treating the opposition as an “opportunity for a business relationship rather than an adversarial proceeding.” They say Morales put together a PowerPoint presentation to show why Beyoncé should acquire her wedding planning business AND her “Blue Ivy” trademark and then they could combine forces and “begin producing products and goods” with Bey attached. Morales allegedly offered a bundle deal for $10 million.
Beyoncé and her legal team reportedly declined and countered by asking Morales’ team to turn over all physical evidence of the alleged sales pitch. Now, court documents obtained by The Blast indicate Morales and her attorneys are demanding a “list of documents and communications” of the Carters’ intended use for the trademark, including texts between Beyoncé and Jay-Z, as well as any exchanged with mom Tina Knowles Lawson. As of Thursday, Beyoncé’s team had not complied, instead asking for a protective order to prevent Morales’ team from leaking any confidential information.
After all this drama, we’re guessing Bey and Jay locked down Sir and Rumi’s trademarks well in advance of their births.