Beyoncé's Legal Battle Over Blue Ivy Heats Up, Wedding Planner Fires Back At Singer
By Ryan Naumann on October 3, 2019 at 8:26 AM EDT
The wedding planner fighting Beyonce in court is attempting to shut down the singer’s claim that her daughter Blue Ivy is a “cultural icon”.
According to court documents obtained by The Blast, Veronica Morales is responding to Bey’s recent court filings in their nasty battle.
Beyonce and Morales have been locked in a dispute over the trademark for years. Bey has been trying to get the trademark to her daughter’s name, but Morales claims she had already been using it. They are scheduled to head to trial in the case.
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Beyonce recently laid out her entire argument for being granted the trademark. One of her arguments read, “Blue Ivy Carter is a cultural icon who has been described as a “mini style star” and has been celebrated for her “fashion moments” overs the years. Her life and activities are followed extensively by the media and the public.”
Further, “Most significantly, Blue Ivy Carter has achieved a significant amount of fame, particularly at such a young age. She also has a noted and well-chronicled interest in fashion. Given these factors, Blue Ivy Carter is capable of and interested in becoming the face of a brand. For this reason, the factual context demonstrates that BGK filed the Application with the intent to build a brand around Blue Ivy Carter and her public reputation and renown.”
The Blast
In newly filed court, Morales attempts to shut down Beyonce's argument over her daughter.
She writes, “Beyonce's company is trying to skirt the law, and recently argued that the 7-year old Blue Ivy Carter is a “cultural icon” in the United States. According to Wikipedia, a cultural icon “is an artifact that is identified by members of a culture as representative of that culture,” such as apple pie, baseball, and the United States Flag.”
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Morales continues, “With all due respect, Blue Ivy Carter definitely is not a cultural icon. That would be someone like Benjamin Franklin, Elvis Presley or Marilyn Monroe. Celebrities need to follow the law like everyone else.” She is asking for Beyonce's trademark application to be denied.
The case is ongoing.
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The whole situation started back in 2017, when Beyonce filed to lock down the rights to the trademark "Blue Ivy Carter" to make sure she had the exclusive use of her daughter’s name.
Soon after, Veronica Morales, the owner of a wedding planning company named Blue Ivy, filed to oppose the singer's application, demanding the pop star not allowed to trademark the name.
Morales’ company had been around three years before Beyonce's daughter was born.
She pointed out in her opposition that Jay-Z even spoke to Vanity Fair admitting they had no intention of using the Blue Ivy mark to sell products but wanted to prevent others from profiting.
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The battle has been going on for nearly two years and turned particularly nasty last year with Beyonce accusing Morales of offering to sell her company for $10 million to the singer. Morales denied the allegations.
Earlier this year, Morales accused Beyoncé of refusing to turn over private communications with Jay-Z and her mother, Tina Knowles.Morales had requested a list of documents and communications from Beyoncé in their trademark battle.
Morales wanted Beyonce to turn over all documents showing any evidence she planned to actually use the trademark "Blue Ivy" (since Morales doesn’t believe the singer ever planned to use it) and any samples of her intent to use the name.
Morales also sought all communications with Jay-Z relating to their 2016 trademark application, any communications of her or Jay-Z knowing about "Blue Ivy" before their daughter was born in February 2012, and any records of convos with Bey and her mother about the mark.
Beyoncé had refused to hand over the documents and she demanded a protective order be entered which would prohibit Morales or her legal team from leaking the confidential information.
Morales recently accused Beyonce of committing fraud when she filed out the trademark application.