Lifestyle
Meghan Markle’s lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard suffers another major blow ahead of product launch
Meghan Markle’s latest trademark application was denied last week, DailyMail.com can reveal, in a new major blow to her embattled American Riviera Orchard home goods brand.
The Duchess of Sussex’s attempt to trademark her small-batch jams and other household goods has landed her in another sticky situation with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), after previous bungles and failures to secure rights over her podcast brand, Archewell, last year.
On August 31 the Patent Office denied her application, saying that businesses are not allowed to trademark geographic locations, including the nickname of the coastline around the Sussexes’ Santa Barbara, California, home: ‘the American Riviera’.
The refusal also included a slew of problems with her filing – including her apparent failure to sign the correct documents.
The USPTO admonished the Duchess for giving vague descriptions of her products that could fit into multiple trademark categories.
The office said her brand’s proposed ‘cocktail napkins’ could be paper or textile – two different categories – and her ‘cooking utensils’ could be manual or electric.
The refusal even included a screenshot of another Santa Barbara business’s product already using the term ‘American Riviera’.
The screenshot showed that the site sbcoastalcandles.com sells an ‘American Riviera’ candle for $34.95.
‘Registration is refused because the applied-for mark is primarily geographically descriptive,’ the Office said in its Saturday filing.
‘Commonly used nicknames for geographic locations are generally treated as equivalent to the proper geographic name of the place identified.
‘American Riviera is a common nickname for Santa Barbara, California.’
The decision could throw a wrench in the works for the launch of Markle’s embattled brand, which was reportedly scheduled to go live by the end of the year.
According to her trademark filings, Meghan, 43, plans to sell tableware, drinkware, decanters, kitchen linens and pantry goods including jellies, jams, marmalade and spreads.
This is so heartwarming: Supermom Brittany Mahomes Steals the Show at Arrowhead, Cheering for Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs Just Days After Welcoming Baby No. 3!
Taylor Swift’s Head-to-Toe Chanel Ensemble Is Her Chicest WAG Look Yet
‘I’m Khaleesi, and like her, I happen to have a few dragons,’ alleged Blake Lively text reads in ‘It Ends With Us’ dispute
Shame on the haters as Meghan Markle publicly shares a photo of her daughter, Lilibet, leaving the internet abuzz because she appears to be a red head like her father
Breaking News!!! Prince William’s begged and pleaded God for one mercy:
Days after Patrick Mahomes and his wife Brittany Mahomes welcomed their third baby together, the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback shared his thoughts on adding another addition to their family.
Beyoncé Donated $2.5 Million to Los Angeles Fire Relief Efforts amidst her husband’s legal issues
Sad news: Jennifer Garner Revealed That She “Lost a Friend” to the L.A. Wildfires
Ben Affleck fled his $20.5million ‘bachelor pad’ in Pacific Palisades and raced to the home of his ex-wife Jennifer Gardner
Lady Gaga Went Makeup-Free With Her Signature Bleached Brow
For the first time ever, Actress Demi Moore breaks down on stage as she received her first Golden globes award: “I am just in shock right now! It feels good to finally be recognized and honoured for my “hardwork”
