Meghan Markle dealt fresh blow in American Riviera Orchard trademark battle
The blow for Meghan Markle comes just days after another obstacle threw a spanner in the works for the Duchess's new brand.
Meghan Markle's new homeware brand American Riviera Orchard has hit another huge obstacle.
Just days ago, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) turned down an application regarding the name of her brand.
The Duchess of Sussex wanted to include 'American Riviera' - the nickname for the coastline near the Sussexes' mansion in Montecito, California - in her company’s name. However, officials said businesses are not allowed to trademark geographic locations.
Now the office is questioning the way the letter 'O' for Orchard is drawn on the logo, reports MailOnline.
In something called a "non-final action" document, USPTO writes that the application has been reviewed by an examining attorney and says the "applicant must submit an amended description of the mark that agrees with the mark on the drawing."
It said: "The current description is inconsistent with the mark on the drawing and is thus inaccurate. Descriptions must be accurate and identify only those literal and design elements appearing in the mark. In particular, the current mark description indicates that the letter 'O' appears in the mark.
"However, the letter is now clearly visible or highly stylized that it is unrecognizable as a letter. Furthermore, the description is incomplete because it does not describe all the elements in the mark."
The office, however, has offered Meghan a suggestion on how to rectify the issue.
It writes: "The following description is suggested, if accurate: The mark consists of a double lined octagon enclosing the stylized and overlapping letters 'AR' and incorporating decorative and looping lines. The latter 'A' contains a stylized flower at the top of the letter."
The USPTO's decision is not final and Meghan can still appeal and revise their application.
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The Duchess of Sussex is reportedly now considering a backup name for her lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard (ARO) if her team cannot get it across the line, an insider has claimed.
According to a source, the recent rejection of the ARO name, which denied Meghan's bid to use the name in a filing dated to August 31, has supposedly sent her team into a "spin".
The source adds there could be a move similar to when Kim Kardashian was forced to change her shapewear line name Kimono to Skims after she was accused of cultural appropriation.
"The team are thinking of backups as we speak just in case," said the source.
"They've been put into a bit of a last-minute spin but they're not too worried because they are aware that Kim K also changed her brand name after launch and it still did amazingly well.
"It will be a rather costly measure if they have to change the name at this late stage due to all the branding, but it won't be the end of the world."
