Jay-Z and Beyonce's New IP Asset: Their Daughter, Blue Ivy

Superstar couple Jay-Z and Beyoncé have their share of musical innovations and savvy business moves to their names, but now they’re breaking ground in the realm of intellectual property law. Shortly after the January 7 birth of their first child, Blue Ivy Carter, the musicians applied to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to trademark the newborn’s name.

According to The Washington Post, “On Jan. 26, new parents Beyoncé and Jay-Z filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to protect the baby’s name—and reserve it for a future line of baby carriages, baby cosmetics, diaper bags, and other undoubtedly fabulous accoutrements for the fashion-forward infant.”

And lest it seem that this is just showbiz megalomania run amok, the Post notes that the couple were actually playing a defensive catch-up game:

Fashion designer Joseph Mbeh. . . submitted an application to trademark ‘Blue Ivy Carter NYC’ on Jan. 11—just four days after the baby was born. Another applicant filed on Jan. 20 for “Blue Ivy Carter Glory IV” to use on a line of fragrances. The trademark office has already denied both filings, saying the name belonged to a “very famous infant ” and consumers would falsely assume that the products were approved by the celebrity parents.

The application was filed by BGK Trademark Holdings, Beyoncé’s company.

While the idea of parents trademarking a baby may seem a bit much—even when the parents and baby are as famous as this power trio—experts seem to agree that this IP move makes sense for all involved.

“In essence, it’s a trademark for a brand, and this brand is expected to be one hot commodity—just look at Blue Ivy’s parents,” attorney and author Vikki Ziegler told MTV. “They are likely trying to protect what they rightfully own or created, shall we say.”

Speaking to E! Online, Greenberg Glusker attorney Aaron Moss even suggests that, in the age of 24-hour celebrity media, this filing might even count as protective parenting:

“This seems like a classic attempt to block others from registering this trademark,” Moss says. He notes that the couple has the option of keeping Blue’s name off the market for up to three years, without putting out a single Blue Ivy product of their own. After that, the trademark protection fade—but so may such intense commercial interest in Ivy, after that.

“Maybe the idea is to keep extending the filings as long as possible, and then, after three years maybe attention has died down and they let it lapse,” Moss says.