Meghan Markle has hit another snag in launching her American Riviera Orchard brand.
Days after the Duchess of Sussex suffered another trademark blunder, the US Patent and Trademark Office has denied her latest application because of her brand’s logo.
The USPTO called attention to the O in the brand’s insignia, claiming that its “description is inconsistent with the mark on the drawing.”
Meghan Markle, pictured above in a still from the Netflix documentary “Harry & Meghan,” might be headed back to the drawing board after being denied her trademark request for her American Riviera Orchard brand.Netflix
The US Patent and Trademark Office denied her request on the grounds that businesses cannot trademark geographic locations.ZUMAPRESS.com
“Descriptions must be accurate and identify only those literal and design elements appearing in the mark,” reads the official “non-final action” document response from the USPTO, per the Daily Mail.
“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.”
Though, some of the issue could be amended if Markle was to take the office’s advice to edit their description to the suggested wording.
The office also took issue with the brand’s logo, claiming that the description of the insignia does not match the drawn depiction.Instagram/American Riviera Orchard
“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,” the “non-final action” document reads.Tracy Robbins / Instagram
“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 statement shared.
Sources told Express UK that the rejection has sent Markle’s team scrambling for new ideas and are even considering a move similar to Kim Kardashian’s decision to change the name of her shapewear brand to Skims after it launched.
“The team are thinking of backups as we speak just in case,” said the source.
The latest snag has reportedly left Markle and her team scrambling for new ideas — even considering a complete name change.SplashNews.com
Markle first launched her American Riviera Orchard lifestyle brand in March claiming the company planned to sell edible treats like jellies, jams and spreads and tableware staples.Tracy Robbins / Instagram
“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.”
The insider added, “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.”
Markle first launched her American Riviera Orchard brand in March, claiming the brand planned to sell edible treats like jellies, jams and spreads and tableware staples such as cutlery, table linens and drinkware.
In April, she teased the company’s offerings by debuting its first product: rustic jars of fresh jam.
