Robyn Rihanna Fenty is known professionally as “Rihanna” and is a singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born February 20th, 1988 in Barbados, the singer rose to fame in the mid-2000s after auditioning for American record producer, Evan Rogers and signing with record label Def Jam in 2005.
The singer released two albums, Music of the Sun (2005), and A Girl Like Me (2006) which both reached the top 10 of the US Billboard 200 chart, but it wasn’t until her third album Good Girl Gone Bad (2007) and the release of chart-topping single “Umbrella” that Rihanna was catapulted into international stardom with her first Grammy win.
Rihanna’s success continued with the release of five more albums, including Rated R (2009), Loud (2010), Talk That Talk (2011), and Unapologetic (2012). Unapologetic contained a series of chart-topping singles and became the artist’s first Billboard 200 number-one album. Rihanna’s eighth album, Anti (2016) featured a different musical tone following her previous radio-friendly dance tunes as a result of the singer taking creative control and ending her contract with Def Jam Recordings and working as an executive producer herself on the album.
Rihanna has won over 230 awards and accolades for her musical career. Highlights include 32 top-ten singles, 14 number-one singles, 12 American Music Awards, 12 Billboard Music Awards, nine Grammy Awards, six Guinness World Records, the NAACP’s President’s Award, and an Academy Award Nomination. Rihanna is the second-best-selling female musician of all time with over 250 million record sales worldwide and as of 2023 was considered the wealthiest female musician.
Not only is the artist known for her musical talents, but she’s also worked as an actress in several films as well, including Battleship (2012), Home (2015), Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017), and Ocean’s 8 (2018).
As a businesswoman, Rihanna also has several ventures. She is the founder of the cosmetics brand, Fenty Beauty, and fashion house “Fenty” under LVMH (LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton – becoming the first black woman to head a luxury brand for LVMH. Rihanna is also the founder of the nonprofit organization Clara Lionel Foundation and has been appointed the ambassador of education, tourism, and investment by the Government of Barbados in 2018. In 2021 she was declared a National Hero of Barbados, entitling her to the style of “The Right Excellent” for life. She has been in a relationship with American rapper, ASAP Rocky since 2020 and the two share a child together.
Famous Rihanna Trademarks
Though Rihanna hasn’t released an album since 2016, the artist remains a cultural icon thanks to her work in fashion, beauty, acting, and entrepreneurship. Rihanna is a hugely successful artist, becoming the second-best-selling female of all time, so it’s no surprise that she has a large number of trademarks to her name. The singer has registered 64 trademarks with USPTO. Let’s take a look at some of her most famous ones, registered by Roraj Trade LLC.
Rihanna
It’s unsurprising that Rihanna’s first trademark was for her stage name. However, the trademark wasn’t filed until 2008, three years after the release of her debut album, and a year after her incredibly successful Good Girl Gone Bad album. The character mark was eventually registered in 2012 and has been updated throughout the years to cover:
- Tote bags; purses; cosmetic cases and bags sold empty
- Bath gels, body lotions, shower gels, perfume
- Charms and pendants; pins being jewelry; costume jewelry; key holders; watches
- Modeling for advertising or sales promotion; promoting the goods and services of others through the issuance of product and/or service endorsements, and through appearances for product and/or service advertising
- Record production; music production; audio recording and production; videotape production; entertainment services, namely, producing musical audio and video programs; entertainment, namely, personal appearances by an entertainer, model, or actress; motion picture film production; entertainment in the nature of on-going television programs featuring music, beauty, fashion, modeling, and spoken word; entertainment in the nature of organizing and conducting talent and modeling competitions
- posters; calendars; stickers; tour books; printed concert programs
- Clothing, namely, T-shirts
- Music composition and transcription for others; songwriting services; entertainment in the nature of live performances by a musical artist, musical group, or musical band; entertainment in the nature of visual and audio performances by a musical artist, musical group, and musical band; entertainment, namely, live music concerts; entertainment, namely, personal appearances by a musician, musical group, musical band or celebrity; entertainment services, namely, providing a web site featuring musical performances, musical videos, related film clips, photographs, and other multimedia materials; entertainment services, namely, providing prerecorded music, information in the field of music, commentary and articles about music, all online via a global computer network; providing a web site that features subject matters related to music, entertainment in the nature of traveling tours featuring music
- Musical sound recordings; audio-visual recordings, namely, compact discs, tape cassettes, audio cassettes, audio tapes, audio discs, records, CD-ROMs, video tapes, video cassettes, video discs, DVDs, DATs, MP3s, and laser discs, all featuring music; downloadable musical sound recordings; downloadable video recordings featuring music, beauty, fashion, and modeling
- Pants, shirts, tops, bottoms, shoes for women, jackets, coats, hats, vests, lingerie, belts
“R”
Rihanna has created a simplistic logo for herself, featuring a stylistic “R” that is made up of sharp straight lines and pointed edges – almost like it’s been illustrated with a knife. The logo is mostly used on merchandise such as clothing and jewelry. The illustration was registered as a trademark in 2012 and covers:
- Blank USB flash drives; cellular phone accessory charms; digital music downloadable from the Internet; pre-recorded digital media featuring music; protective carry cases and fitted plastic films known as skins for covering and protecting electronic apparatus, namely, mobile phones and personal digital assistants
- Key chains as jewelry, necklaces, ornamental pins, and rings
- Tote bags
- Shirts, jackets, sweatshirts, shorts, pants, caps, bandanas, caps, T-shirts, shorts, headbands
- Audio and video recordings featuring music and artistic performances
- Entertainment services in the nature of ongoing television shows in the field of fashion; presentation of live stage show performances; providing websites featuring information in the field of musical entertainment
RiRi
Not only is “RiRi” an affectionate nickname for the singer but it was originally trademarked to launch the artist’s first solo perfume. RiRi by Rihanna Eau de Parfum was launched in 2015 and has notes of passionfruit, rum, mandarin orange, and cassis. However, it looks like Rihanna wants to expand the trademark to cover more with trademark files being made as recently as February 2023. The wordmark was originally filed for a trademark in 2015 and covers:
- Perfume and cosmetics, namely, powder blush, brow liner, liquid eyeliner, eye shadow, false eyelashes, lip pencils, lip gloss, lipstick, and mascara
- Cosmetic brushes, namely, shader brushes and face brushes
- (Pending) tops, bottoms, underclothes, gloves, hats, and scarves
- (Pending) Lip polisher; non-medicated lip balm; lip liner; lip gloss; lip tint; lip rouge; lip cream; lip conditioners; lip stains; lip gloss palette; lip primer; lip repairers; non-medicated lip plumping preparations; non-medicated lip care preparations; cream blush; blush, highlighter, bronzer; eyeshadow; eyeshadow sticks
- (Pending) Medicated lip balms; medicated lip; medicated lip salves
- (Pending) Lip brushes
Fenty
The singer trademarked her surname which is used for her beauty and fashion brand, Fenty. Rihanna has trademarked several variations of the name including “Fenty Beauty”, “Fenty Glow”, “Fenty Skin”, “Fenty Hair”, “Fenty Skin Total Cleans’r”, and more. There are also logo versions of the brand too.
Rihanna has actually already had a legal battle over her Fenty brand – suing her father in 2019 for using the “Fenty” trademark for his Fenty entertainment brand and associating it with her likeness. However, she dropped the case before it went to court.
The original simple character mark for the word “Fenty” was filed in 2019, and has been updated throughout the years, with some aspects of the trademark still pending. The trademark covers:
- (Pending) Belts for clothing
- Eyeglass frames; eyeglasses
- Purses
- (Pending) Perfume; hand lotion; body lotion; body cream; beauty cream; beauty lotion; bath gel; shower gels; skin soap; and personal deodorants
- Sunglasses
- Jewelry
- Clothing, namely, clothing bottoms, clothing tops, coats, dresses, jackets, overalls, pants, pullovers, raincoats, shirts, skirts, sleepwear, suits, sweatshirts, tee-shirts, undergarments, vests, scarves, shawls, headwear, neckwear, footwear, shoes, boots, and half-boots
- Jewelry; jewelry boxes and cases
- Parkas, shorts
- On-line retail store services featuring textile goods
- Shorts
- (Pending) Non-medicated hair care preparations; non-medicated dandruff shampoo; hair styling preparations; hair straightening preparations; hair relaxing preparations; hair waving preparations; non-medicated hair restoration lotions; hair bleaching preparations; hair coloring preparations; hair glitter
- (Pending) Providing online non-downloadable virtual goods, namely, digital art, photographs, digital artwork, and images; Providing online non-downloadable videos and audio recordings featuring cosmetics and makeup, cosmetic and makeup accessories, hair care preparations, hair coloring preparations, hair styling preparations, hair care accessories, hair coloring accessories, hair styling accessories, skin care preparations, skin care accessories, soaps, perfumes, and personal fragrances
- (Pending) Providing a website featuring online non-downloadable software for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or other digital tokens based on the field of blockchain technology
- (Pending) Downloadable mobile applications, namely, computer application software for mobile and smart phones for web browsing, accessing retail store services and shopping, accessing e-commerce services in the nature of online auctions, online marketplaces, device and account management, audio and video streaming; Downloadable digital media, namely, digital collectibles in the nature of music files, video files, digital artwork authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs); downloadable digital media, namely, digital tokens in the nature of music files, video files, digital artwork authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs); downloadable digital art, namely multimedia files containing artwork, video recordings featuring memes authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs); downloadable video recordings featuring memes, multimedia file containing artwork relating to cosmetics and makeup, cosmetic and makeup accessories, hair care preparations, hair coloring preparations, hair styling preparations, hair care accessories, hair coloring accessories, hair styling accessories, skin care preparations, skin care accessories, soaps, perfumes and personal fragrances authenticated by non-fungible tokens used with blockchain technology to represent a collectible item; digital tokens used with blockchain technology to represent a collectible item, namely, downloadable multimedia files containing artwork, downloadable video recordings featuring memes; digital tokens representing downloadable multimedia files containing artwork, downloadable videos used with blockchain technology for data storage and content access limitation; downloadable video recordings featuring memes, multimedia files containing artwork relating to cosmetics and makeup, cosmetic and makeup accessories, hair care preparations, hair coloring preparations, hair styling preparations, hair care accessories, hair coloring accessories, hair styling accessories, skin care preparations, skin care accessories, soaps, perfumes and personal fragrances authenticated by non-fungible tokens used with blockchain technology
- (Pending) Entertainment services, namely, providing online, non-downloadable virtual cosmetics and makeup, cosmetic and makeup accessories, hair care preparations, hair coloring preparations, hair styling preparations, hair care accessories, hair coloring accessories, hair styling accessories, skin care preparations, skin care accessories, soaps, perfumes and personal fragrances for use in virtual environments created for entertainment purposes
- (Pending) Retail store services featuring virtual goods, namely, cosmetics and makeup, cosmetic and makeup accessories, hair care preparations, hair coloring preparations, hair styling preparations, hair care accessories, hair coloring accessories, hair styling accessories, skin care preparations, skin care accessories, soaps, perfumes, and personal fragrances for use online; On-line retail store services featuring virtual merchandise, namely, cosmetics and makeup, cosmetic and makeup accessories, hair care preparations, hair coloring preparations, hair styling preparations, hair care accessories, hair coloring accessories, hair styling accessories, skin care preparations, skin care accessories, soaps, perfumes, and personal fragrances
- (Pending) Downloadable virtual goods, namely, computer programs featuring cosmetics and makeup, cosmetic and makeup accessories, hair care preparations, hair coloring preparations, hair styling preparations, hair care accessories, hair coloring accessories, hair styling accessories, skin care preparations, skin care accessories, soaps, perfumes, and personal fragrances, all of the foregoing for use in online virtual worlds
- (Pending) Retail store services featuring cosmetics and makeup, cosmetic and makeup accessories, hair care preparations, hair coloring preparations, hair styling preparations, hair care accessories, hair coloring accessories, hair styling accessories, skin care preparations, skin care accessories, soaps, perfumes, and personal fragrance
- (Pending) Online retail store services featuring cosmetics and makeup, cosmetic and makeup accessories, hair care preparations, hair coloring preparations, hair styling preparations, hair care accessories, hair coloring accessories, hair styling accessories, skin care preparations, skin care accessories, soaps, perfumes, and personal fragrances
- (Pending) Neck straps and neck cords to restrain items from movement on wearers
- (Pending) Charms for jewelry
- (Pending) Backpacks; clutches; cosmetic cases and bags sold empty; handbags; luggage; tote bags; wallets; key cases; umbrellas
- (Pending) Retail store services featuring perfumery, clothing, footwear and headgear, textile goods, leather and imitation leather goods, bags, eyeglass frames, eyeglasses, sunglasses, jewelry, watches, and clocks; online retail store services featuring perfumery, eyeglass frames, eyeglasses, watches, and clocks; promotional sponsorship of charity events, concerts, sporting events, and art exhibitions; fashion show exhibitions for commercial purposes
- Retail store services featuring perfumery, clothing, footwear and headgear, textile goods, leather and imitation leather goods, bags, eyeglass frames, eyeglasses, sunglasses, jewelry, watches, and clocks; online retail store services featuring perfumery, leather, and imitation leather goods, eyeglass frames, eyeglasses, watches, and clocks; promotional sponsorship of charity events, concerts, sporting events, and art exhibitions; fashion show exhibitions for commercial purposes
- (Pending) cosmetics; perfumes; non-medicated skin care preparations; non-medicated soaps; cosmetic preparations for body care; pre-moistened cosmetic wipes; facial cleaning tissues pre-moistened with a cleaning agent; scuffing pads; body care kits comprising non-medicated body care preparations, including, non-medicated skin care preparations, non-medicated soaps, cosmetic preparations for body care, pre-moistened cosmetic wipes, pre-moistened facial cleaning tissues and wipes, pre-moistened cleansing cloths, and treated and untreated peeling pads; skin care kits comprising non-medicated skin care preparations, including, non-medicated skin care preparations, non-medicated soaps, cosmetic preparations for body care, pre-moistened cosmetic wipes, pre-moistened facial cleaning tissues and wipes, pre-moistened cleansing cloths, and treated and untreated peeling pad; non-medicated hair care preparations; non-medicated dandruff shampoo; hair styling preparations; hair straightening preparations; hair relaxing preparations; hair waving preparations; non-medicated hair restoration lotions; hair bleaching preparations; hair coloring preparations; hair glitter; bleaching preparations and other substances for laundry use; cleaning, polishing, scouring and abrasive preparations
Wrapping up
Rihanna is one of the most successful female musicians of all time. Her musical success in addition to her beauty and fashion brands has meant that she’s become a cultural icon and brand in her own right.
It’s no surprise that the artist has 64 trademarks registered with USPTO. However, it is interesting to note that Rihanna doesn’t have a huge variation of trademarks. The volume of trademarks is more in relation to what each trademark covers, which is extensive. Really, the singer has only registered her name, perfume brand, logo, and range of Fenty beauty and cosmetic products.
Rihanna has done a very thorough job of trademarking many of her assets, particularly that of her Fenty brand. However, the singer hasn’t trademarked any of her musical assets such as album titles, or phrasing associated with her songs. She also hasn’t trademarked her fanbase name, the “Rihanna Navy” or any of her non-profit work with the Clara Lionel Foundation. While she’s been sure to cover the essentials which will prevent competitors from using the same or similar wording and imagery, ensuring all of her assets are protected by registering them as a trademark with USPTO will protect her in future legal battles, which she’s already pursued. As an artist that’s worth $1.4 billion, it’s worth covering herself.
