From festive phrases to iconic characters, Christmas related trademarks deck the halls during the holiday season, allowing businesses to exercise exclusive rights over their logos, phrases and branding.

Let’s talk about three successful Christmas trademarks and their journey to gaining intellectual property protection:

Elf on the Shelf

One of the most iconic Christmas trademarks, Elf on the Shelf, was created by the Aebersold family in 2005. The picutre book tells a story of a scout elf who reports to Santa of the activities occuring in people’s homes throughout the day, only once a year during the Christmas season.

Elf on the Shelf gained immense popularity, collecting several awards such as the Best Toy Award, a Book of the Year award and National Best Books Award over the years. The brand even secured a Netflix deal in 2020, alongside multiple TV specials based on Elf on the Shelf characters. (source)

The publication’s success meant several aspects of the brand gained trademark protection, such as its name, character design and more. (source)

The family who created the brand have proactively maintained IP protection to ensure Elf on the Shelf stands out from other elf offerings over the holiday season. The brand has expanded its product range to themed merchandise, advent calendars, games, activities and more.

The Aebersold family’s comprehensive IP strategy has cemented Elf on the Shelf as a Christmas staple, securing the brand, its story and characters as a festive experience to look forward to every December.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

‘Rudolph the red nosed reindeer… Had a very shiny nose!’

Written by songwriter Johnny Marks and performed by Gene Autry, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is a classic Christmas tune that rolls around every holiday season.

The character Rudolph’s origins stem from a 1939 tale published by the Montgomery Ward Company, detailing an underdog reindeer with a glowing red nose who endeared to many. The song based on Rudolph’s story led the character’s popularity to skyrocket, as Autry’s recording sold 1.75 million copies in its first Christmas season.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer has since been inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being ‘culturally, historically and aesthetically significant.’ (source)

Rudolph is protected by trademark and copyright, owned by The Rudolph Company L.P. and St. Nicholas Music Inc. respectively. The IP protection for Rudolph includes his name, illustration, media representation and more. (source)

The Rudolph Company reserves the right to renew the trademark indefinitely, meaning third parties are most likely be unable to utilise the name or image of Rudolph on their merchandise without receiving licensing rights first. Such an IP strategy works to preserve the legacy of Rudolph for many years to come.