What You Can Learn From Meghan Markle’s American Riviera Trademark Debacle

Table of Contents

• What were the details of Meghan Markle’s trademark application?
• What lessons can be learned from Meghan Markle’s trademark refusals?
  • One – do an in-depth trademark clearance search
  • Two – Be careful when using geographical descriptions
  • Three – Fill in your trademark application carefully
• Get legal advice

One cannot help feeling a little sorry for the Duchess of Sussex. Regardless of whether you love her or hate her, the panning of her Netflix venture With Love, Meghan, by the world’s critics, did feel a little like everyone wanted her to fail and for the streaming giant to give her and her hubby the boot. But Meghan has had the last laugh (for now). Netflix announced over the weekend that her lifestyle show will renew for a second season.

What is dead in the water, however, is her trademark application for American Riviera Orchard, the original name of the brand set up to sell lifestyle products on the back of Ms Markle’s Netflix series.

Trademark applications can present multiple landmines for the inexperienced and unwary. Below are some lessons all business owners and start-up founders can learn from the Duchess’s woeful encounter with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

What were the details of Meghan Markle’s trademark application?

The saga began in March 2024 when Ms Markle unveiled her new business venture via Instagram. Named American Riviera Orchard, the brand planned to sell items such as tableware, drinkware including decanters, kitchen linens, and edible treats such as jellies, jams, marmalade, and spreads. This was seen as a return to her original roots – before she married Prince Harry, Meghan ran a successful lifestyle blog called The Tig.

In August 2024, the USPTO rejected an application to trademark the name American Riviera Orchard because the name was “primarily geographically descriptive.” The USPTO also stated that the stylised O in “Orchard” was “unrecognizable” and that the application failed to provide a clear description of the logo. Without an accurate description, the application was deemed to be incomplete. A request was made to Ms Markle’s team to revise the application to include precise design details.

In addition, in October 2024, a legal protest was filed by the food company Harry & David, which holds the trademark for “Royal Riviera.” The company argued that the similarity between the names “American Riviera Orchard” and their trademarked title could confuse consumers, especially since both brands might operate in related industries. These issues led Ms Markle’s legal team to request a three month extension.

In February 2025, Ms Markle renamed her lifestyle brand As Ever. This also led to problems when a trademark application was filed with the USPTO. It partially rejected the application because it deemed the name too close to that of the Chinese clothing outfit ASEVER. In addition, the mayor of Porreres, Mallorca, sought legal advice as the As Ever logo, which features a palm tree flanked by two hummingbirds, is similar to the town’s Coat of Arms.

Although Ms Markle filed her trademark application with the USPTO, many aspects of trademark law are similar worldwide, thanks to various international treaties and the creation of the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). If Ms Markle’s legal team had filed the same trademark application at the UK’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO), it is highly likely it would have been rejected on the same grounds. Below are some quick lessons business owners and entrepreneurs can learn from the failed American Riviera Orchard trademark application and partially refused As Ever application.

What lessons can be learned from Meghan Markle’s trademark refusals?

One – do an in-depth trademark clearance search

Before you file a trademark application, it is crucial you run a comprehensive trademark clearance search to ensure no one else owns a similar brand to the one you are trying to trademark.

Trademark clearance search can be run:

1. Manually – This involves using tools and sources such as Google, company directories, social media platforms, app stores, etc, to locate any person or business that has a similar mark to the one you wish to register. Once all the applicable information is collected, it needs to be analysed, and a final report compiled. This method is slow, expensive, and inaccurate and, therefore, not recommended.

2. Using AI-based searches – Using AI and machine-learning products can reduce the time required to conduct a trademark clearance search from weeks to seconds. Furthermore, the results you uncover will be more comprehensive and accurate. This is vital because you need to consider marks that sound or look similar to the trademark you want to register.

Experienced Trademark Solicitors will have access to AI-based searching tools. In addition, they have the expertise needed to interpret the results. It may cost a little more to instruct such a Solicitor, but you will save money in the long run by negating the risk of an objection to your application being made.

Two – Be careful when using geographical descriptions

‘American Riviera’ is a common nickname for Santa Barbara, California, near to where Megan Markle lives. According to the USPTO, commonly used nicknames for geographic locations are equivalent to the proper geographic name of the location identified. Therefore, Ms Markle may have well as named her brand Santa Barbara Orchard.

Products produced or a service provided near the geographic location in the mark is enough for the USPTO to conclude that the goods or services originate in that geographic location. Adding the word ‘Orchard’ to the geographic term did not weaken the primarily geographical descriptiveness of Ms Markle’s mark. Because the goods would be sold from a location nearSanta Barbara, consumers may assume that they are connected with the coastal city, especially given the royal couple live nearby.

Three – Fill in your trademark application carefully

If the body in which you file your trademark application questions any aspect of it, the application will be delayed, leaving time for your competitors to possibly pinch aspects of your brand and cause delays to product launches. The best way to avoid this is to have an experienced Intellectual Property Solicitor fill in the application and review your supporting documents. They will alert you to any potential problems before filing, giving you time to fix them before any details are made public and you have paid the fee.

Getting legal advice

Our Intellectual Property Lawyers can advise you on all aspects of making a UK and/or international trademark application.

To instruct one of our Intellectual Property Law Solicitors, please fill in our contact form or email us at [email protected].