Meghan Markle's Trademark Setback: American Riviera Orchard's Future In Jeopardy

Meghan Markle has received a blow to the future of her lifestyle brand as the United States Patent and Trademark Office has denied her bid to trademark the "American Riviera Orchard" name. The decision has raised questions about the brand's viability and the challenges of establishing a successful business in a competitive market. Despite the brand's promising start, this setback highlights the complexities and regulations involved in trademarking a business name.

In March, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, soft-launched American Riviera Orchard with a website and Instagram page that featured slick new branding, though no further information about the business or planned product lines was released. The launch was met with excitement, but now, just months later, the trademark denial poses significant hurdles for the brand's future.

Days before the launch, a holding company connected to the duchess filed applications with the USPTO to trademark the name against a number of goods and services, including homeware, garden accessories, stationery, jams, jellies, and preserves. This strategic move was meant to protect her brand, but it seems the USPTO had other ideas.

Meghan promoted the brand in April by sending 50 jars of homemade jam with American Riviera Orchard branding to a number of her celebrity pals, including Chrissy Teigen and Kris Jenner, who then mentioned them to their millions of social media followers. This marketing strategy aimed to generate buzz and establish a customer base, but the recent trademark denial has thrown a wrench into those plans.

Now, six months after the soft launch, Meghan's fledgling brand has suffered a blow with its trademark setback. A nonfinal action filed on August 31 by the USPTO notified Meghan that her application was denied in part because the American Riviera Orchard name is "primarily geographically descriptive." This means that the primary significance of the mark to consumers is a generally known location, leading to challenges in establishing brand identity.

The USPTO stated that "American Riviera" is already a recognizable term associated colloquially with Santa Barbara, California, which is close to Meghan's home in the A-list enclave of Montecito. This geographical association complicates the trademark registration process and suggests that consumers may assume her products originate from that location.

The application was also sent back for other reasons, including that certain goods and services must be rephrased, and a needed signature be provided. These additional requirements add to the complexity of the trademark application process and may delay the brand's launch further.

Meghan has numerous options to take American Riviera Orchard forward, and the most drastic of these would be to propose a different name. While this might seem like a setback, it could also be an opportunity to reinvent the brand and better align it with her vision.

Newsweek understands that a nonfinal filing, such as the one the duchess received, is routine and expected when applying for trademarks. This means that while the initial response from the USPTO is not favorable, it does not necessarily spell doom for the brand; rather, it opens the door for possible revisions and resubmissions.

In 2023, the USPTO denied Meghan's trademark application for the name "Archetypes," the title of her 12-episode podcast series that aired in 2022. The application failed because the name was too similar to trademarks already in existence, indicating that Meghan has faced challenges in trademarking before.

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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