Meghan Markle faces fresh trademark setback

Meghan Markle, has made an adjustment to her entrepreneurship journey in the wake of a string of routine bumps in the road with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Rather than proceed with her American Riviera Orchard venture, the Duchess has pared down her business aspirations under a new, approved lifestyle brand name: As Ever. The transition makes for a case study in the intricacies of trademark law, business adaptability, and celebrity brand management.

Why Was the American Riviera Orchard Trademark Refused?

When the Duchess launched her lifestyle and cooking brand in early 2024, her legal team submitted multiple trademark applications covering a broad range of household products, including dinnerware, kitchen goods and her publicized fruit preserves.

In response, however, the USPTO issued a “non-final officer action” that highlighted several issues, among them: Geographic Descriptiveness “Generic geographic nicknames cannot be claimed as the sole property of a business,” reads the US trademark law website.

Since the ‘American Riviera’ is a commonly used nickname for the California city where Meghan and Prince Harry live – Santa Barbara – office reviewers ruled the trademark could not be protected exclusively.

Technicalities The application also required more precise descriptions of product categories and a more detailed outline of the brand’s stylized monogram logo.

Specifically, the USPTO asked clarifying questions on what types of cocktails napkins the Duchess planned to sell – paper or fabric.

Third-Party Protests Premium gift and mail-order retailer Harry & David filed a formal letter of protest on grounds that the ‘American Riviera Orchard’ name and graphic closely resembled its own ‘Royal Riviera’ gourmet brand.

Brand experts, however, stress that USPTO refusals are common at the initial stages of commercial filing and often simply an early step in a longer process. Meghan pivots to ‘As Ever’ with Netflix Partnership Instead of prolonging a potentially costly trademark process, Meghan’s team chose to abandon the American Riviera Orchard trademark applications altogether.

The Duchess turned instead to ‘As Ever’ – the name she originally filed for back in 2022, now as part of a joint venture. The move coincides directly with her new Netflix series, ‘With Love, Meghan’, signaling that the Duchess is aligning her brand closely with the streamer. This new brand represents a fresh start with a clean, legally unburdened slate.

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As the name suggests, ‘As Ever’ also nods to the Duchess’s pre-royal brand identity, evoking her days as a lifestyle blogger with The Tig.