Mariah Carey's New Liqueur Brand Is In Legal Trouble. Here's Why

Despite the two years of development that Mariah Carey's tweet claimed was behind her Black Irish cream liqueur, no one seemed to have considered checking if the name was trademarked. This is important because — well — it was.

The Currency News reports that Mariah Carey's ambitions to extend her sales into the European Union have been met with trademark lawsuits as Darker Still Spirits Co. Ltd. makes a product called Black Irish. The original Black Irish is a blend of Irish whiskey with stout, chocolate malt, and roasted barley. It was reported that representatives from Carey's team attempted to reach out for a deal, but were rebuffed. So, Darker Still Spirits intends to seize control of the trademark.

However, the piece also noted that the renewed scrutiny has raised a new question. Namely, Mariah Carey's Black Irish is made with an Irish cream liqueur. Irish cream liqueur is like champagne as the European Union protects the geographic bounds of its production. So, some wonder, how has Mariah Carey's Black Irish made in Ireland without registering for the right to use an EU trademark before this?

While the rest of the world will have to wait for Mariah Carey's addition to the liquor market, the United States can pair her branded booze with her branded desserts, Mariah's Cookies. After all, even with the buzz submerging beneath the news cycles focused on Wendy's breakfast deals, the virtual food brands birthed by the pandemic still exist.

In April, Fast Company examined the phenomenon of celebrity-owned virtual brands, like MrBeast Burger, that have popped up all over. It noted that the main drivers for this specific niche of food services is both the content that helps further fuel the celebrity and the data vaults celebrities own thanks to their social media followers. So, people like Mariah Carey can have a franchise appear out of nowhere with a pre-established fanbase and use those interactions to create further enterprises, like a liquor brand for instance. While celebrities have been branding items for as long as they have existed, few have experienced the ease of success this current batch has. Even with the trademark issue, Carey's data and content empires will continue to grow.