Can Mariah Carey win her porn trademark battle?

Angus Kidman
Monday, 11 December 2006 06:00

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Singer Mariah Carey is battling a technology-related trademark application by porn star Mary Carey, but unless Carey plans on flashing the flesh herself, she may not have much chance of winning.

Mariah garnered a swathe of news coverage over the weekend after she sent a letter to her near-namesake Mary Carey, opposing her recent application to trademark the name 'Mary Carey'.

Mary Carey has appeared in over 70 adult films since 2002, including such salubrious-sounding titles as Lesbian Big Boob Bangeroo 2 and Desperately Seeking Jezebelle. Mariah Carey has starred in just two conventional movies, the widely-panned and almost career-wrecking Glitter and the rarely-seen Wise Girls.

Mary Carey's application, lodged on October 31 2005 under her birth name of Mary Cook, seeks to trademark her name in relation to adult films, DVDs, and multimedia software and interactive computer programs. It was published for possible opposition on August 29, but Mariah Carey's objection has only recently become public.

An examination of US trademark records shows that Mariah is no slouch when it comes to trademark registration herself, with her name already tied to online music ordering services, chat rooms, ringtones and cosmetics, as well as the expected recordings, tour T-shirts and concert programs.

However, since Mariah hasn't yet made any adult movies (or even been tied to online sex tape rumours in the manner of fellow singer Britney Spears), and Mary Carey's application specifically cites "adult audio and visual dramatic performances," the risk of confusion is probably not high.

The lack of overlap was underlined in Mary Carey's attorney David Beitchman's comments to reporters: "Does Mariah Carey realize what her lawyer is comparing her to?"