A six-year-old girl from the United Kingdom (UK) was denied a passport after she was named after a popular “Game of Thrones” character.
According to local media outlets, the girl’s mother was told that she needed Warner Brothers’ approval for Khaleesi’s passport application as the studio owned the name’s trademark.
It is pertinent to mention that Khaleesi was the title given to Emilia Clarke’s character Daenerys Targaryen in the ‘Game of Thrones’.
In an interview with BBC, the girl’s mother said that she was told by the passport office to reach out to the studio after she applied for her daughter’s passport.
“I was absolutely devastated, we were so looking forward to our first holiday together,” she added.
Their plans of going on a family vacation to Disneyland Paris were disturbed after they received an unusual letter from the authorities.
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“I had a letter come through from the Passport Office, saying her name is trademarked by Warner Brothers. It was the first I’ve heard of such a thing – I was astonished,” Lucy added.
Following the development, the woman’s legal team began digging into the point raised by the passport office and found that ‘Game of Thrones’ is indeed trademarked, but for products and services, and not for a person’s name.
“That information was sent to the Passport Office who said I would need a letter from Warner Brothers to confirm my daughter is able to use that name,” Khaleesi’s mother said.
Expressing her dismay over the incident, she wondered why the concerned authorities did not raise the issue in the earlier stages.
“I didn’t understand and felt frustrated. If she could get a birth certificate, would something not have been flagged up then? I never thought you could trademark a name,” Lucy said.
Later, the Passport Office apologised, saying that there was a misunderstanding.
“He advised me that they should be able to process my daughter’s passport now,” she said.
Lucy and her six-year-old girl daughter Khaleesi hope that they will be able to visit Disneyland Paris after the passport office processes the girl’s passport.
“I am hoping the passport will be issued soon and was promised that they would call back in a few days to see if it had progressed,” she added.