It’s official — Megan Thee Stallion now runs the summer as she’s secured ownership of the “Hot Girl Summer” trademark.
The smash-hit was a cultural reset launching various marketing campaigns nationwide. So, it comes as no surprise that Megan Thee Stallion wanted to secure ownership. In a 2019 interview with Allure, the rapper said after seeing traction in places including Forever 21, she knew it was time to trademark her coined phrase.
“I really didn’t even know that it was gonna catch on how it did… When I saw Wendy’s and Forever 21 saying, ‘Hey, are you having a Hot Girl Summer?’ I was like, ‘Hell no, Forever 21, you’re going to have to pay me.'” But I just wanted to get it trademarked because it’s me. It’s my thing,” Megan Thee Stallion said, according to Allure.
Megan Thee Stallion Faced Roadblocks Since The Initial Filing
Getting the ball rolling, the Houston rapper filed for the trademark in 2019. An official document from Gerben Law states Hot Girl Trademark Holdings, LLC filed for multiple trademark applications for the catchphrase to be used in recorded music for CDs, DVDs, and downloadable music. The catchphrase was also filed for use in streaming music services, images, multimedia content, various goods, and services.
The process for trademark approval took some time due to a few stumbling blocks. Josh Gerben, trademark attorney and founder of Gerben Intellectual Property, shared with Girls United the trademark for “Hot Girl” clothing proved to be difficult as it had already been popularized and distributed nationwide.
“Sometimes, if a trademark is too widely used, they won’t allow registration,” Gerben said, according to Girls United. “The best thing I can think of is, once the cat’s out of the bag, it can be really hard to put the cat back in the bag.”
Megan Thee Stallion Receives Stamp Of Approval
Luckily, Megan has defied all odds because according to a recent tweet posted on Jan. 4 by Gerben, she is now the owner of the federal trademark registration for “Hot Girl Summer.”
It took Megan Thee Stallion 2+ years of wrangling with the USPTO, but she is now the owner of a federal trademark registration for HOT GIRL SUMMER.
The registration was just issued to @theestallion on January 4th. 👇#hotgirlsummer#megantheestallion pic.twitter.com/H5cUtNaflS
— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) January 8, 2022