Released in 2017 but gaining popularity in 2019, the single helped launch Lizzo’s career. Since then, her applications to trademark the phrase have been consistently denied by the US Patent and Trademark Office.
This week, however, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruled that “100 per cent that bitch” is “inexplicably linked” to Lizzo.
Lizzo, winner of Best Pop Solo Performance for “Truth Hurts”, Best Traditional R&B Performance for “Jerome”, and Best Urban Contemporary Album for “Cuz I Love You (Deluxe)”, poses in the press room during the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards. (Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez).
Rolling Stone report that the ruling says: “Consumers encountering [‘100 per cent that bitch’] on the specific types of clothing identified in the application – even when offered by third parties – associate the term with Lizzo and her music.”
The original ruling claimed that “100 per cent that bitch” was not unique enough to warrant Lizzo owning the rights to its usage. Instead, it was considered a “motivational phrase” linked to “female empowerment”, with the Office also initially citing a then ongoing plagiarism debate regarding ‘Truth Hurts’. That has since been settled.
Now, Lizzo is, officially and commercially, “100 per cent that bitch”.
The singer’s success with the patent means she can pull off a feat that eluded Mariah Carey at the end of last year. Carey had tried and failed to trademark the title ‘Queen of Christmas’.
Here is our review of Lizzo’s album Special, released last year.
