Megan Thee Stallion Is Trademarking "Hot Girl Summer" In A Total Boss Move

As you probably already know, the summer of 2019 is officially the Hot Girl Summer, thanks to rapper Megan Thee Stallion. The 24 year-old rapper used the term "hot girl" both in song lyrics for her May 2019 album Fever, and on the album's cover, which reads, "She's the Hot Girl and she's bringing Thee Heat." When the O.G. Hot Girl started using the term Hot Girl Summer, it spread through the Internet like a fire, likely caused by Thee Heat. Now, Megan Thee Stallion is trademarking the term "Hot Girl Summer," and it's truly a boss move.

According to Billboard, Megan filed the trademark application on July 10, and it will cover use of the term on clothing merchandise. Obviously, since everyone has started using the term Hot Girl Summer, from Miley Cyrus to brands like Wendy's, Megan Thee Stallion's words — some might call it a proverb — have seriously made an impact on Internet culture. It's certainly a good move for Megan Thee Stallion to trademark the term so that she owns Hot Girl Summer, because without her, nobody would have an Instagram caption for their thirst traps.

But Hot Girl Summer isn't just about posting pictures online, and its Houston, Texas-born originator has clarified what the criteria for having a Hot Girl Summer is exactly. On July 17, Megan tweeted, "Being a Hot Girl is about being unapologetically YOU, having fun, being confident, living YOUR truth, being the life of the party etc."

In an interview with The Root from the red carpet at the BET Awards on June 23, Megan Thee Stallion explained that Hot Girl Summer isn't even exclusive to women. "It's just basically about women — and men — just being unapologetically them, having a good ass time, hyping up your friends, doing you, not giving a damn about what nobody gotta say about it," the rapper told The Root. Anyone can have a Hot Girl Summer, as long as you have the right attitude, she explained. "You definitely have to be a person that can be the life of the party and just a bad b*tch."

In the same red carpet interview with The Root, Megan Thee Stallion explained another term she frequently uses on social media, which is "drive the boat," or sometimes "drive yacht." According to the Houston rapper, that means you "throw your head back, open your mouth, and let me pour the shot in." Then she added, "Be ready to drive the boat next time I see you." Perhaps that will be the next term the 24 year-old trademarks.

Of course, Megan Thee Stallion isn't the first celebrity to trademark one of their catchphrases that goes viral. According to CNBC, Paris Hilton trademarked her motto, "That's Hot," in 2007, and the sports announcer Michael Buffer trademarked "Let’s get ready to rumble!" in 1998. Celebrities even trademark their lyrics and phrases that don't necessarily go viral, out of shrewdness. For example, Taylor Swift trademarked numerous phrases from her album, 1989, which included ""Party Like It's 1989," "This Sick Beat," and "Nice to Meet You. Where You Been?" per Vox.

As CNBC's reporting reveals, trademarks can take years to get approved, so Megan Thee Stallion might have to wait until next summer to reap the benefits of her phraseology, but then again, Hot Girl Summer is such a sensation, perhaps this will go through more quickly than usual.