Lizzo’s DNA test came back “100% that bitch” on her 2016 single “Good As Hell” but now, she can claim as much lyrically and legally, thanks to a federal tribunal that ruled she can register the catchphrase with a federal trademark.
Billboard reports that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office reviewed Lizzo’s trademark application after it was rejected last year. The USPTO initially decided that it was a “motivational phrase” for “female empowerment,” not a unique brand name.
Today, though, the USPTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board overturned that decision on the basis that it wasn’t in common use before “Good As Hell” took over the airwaves in 2019, when it was re-released as a single ahead of the release of Lizzo’s major-label debut, Cuz I Love You. That Lizzo is truly a trendsetter.
Now, the TTAPB says, anyone hearing the phrase would immediately think of the singer, even if the phrase were printed on a third-party or unaffiliated product. Therefore, to keep bootleggers from profiting from Lizzo’s creativity, the board granted Lizzo the right to trademark it — and protect it and her own image.
“Lizzo did not originate the expression she encountered as a Twitter meme,” the board wrote. “Nonetheless, lyrics from songs are more likely to be attributed to the artists who sing, rap or otherwise utter them, rather than the songwriters.”
