Meghan Markle’s latest trademark application was rejected last week, DailyMail.com can report, in another major blow to her troubled home furnishings brand American Riviera Orchard.
The Duchess of Sussex’s attempt to trademark her small batches of jam and other household products has landed her in yet another hot seat at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), following previous blunders and failures in obtaining rights to her podcast brand Archewell last year.
On August 31, the patent office denied her application. According to the patent office, companies are not allowed to trademark geographical locations, including the nickname for the coastline surrounding the Sussexes’ home in Santa Barbara, California, “the American Riviera.”
The refusal was also accompanied by a series of problems with her declaration, including the fact that she apparently had not signed the correct documents.
Meghan Markle’s request to trademark her new lifestyle brand name was rejected last week, DailyMail.com can reveal
The Duchess of Sussex had attempted to trademark ‘American Riviera Orchard’ – her new line of jams and other household items – for international use ahead of a major launch next year, but was rejected because the name is ‘primarily geographically descriptive’
The USPTO chastised the duchess for providing 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 fabric — two different categories — and her “cookware” could be manual or electric.
American Rivera Orchard launched earlier this year as a lifestyle brand that will sell products such as jams and cookbooks
The denial even included a screenshot of a product from another Santa Barbara company that already used the term “American Riviera.”
The screenshot showed that the site sbcoastalcandles.com is selling an “American Riviera” candle for $34.95.
“Registration is refused because the applied-for mark is primarily geographically descriptive,” the Office said in Saturday’s filing.
Commonly used nicknames for geographic locations are generally considered equivalent to the actual geographic name of the identified place.
‘American Riviera is a common nickname for Santa Barbara, California.’
The decision could throw a spanner in the works for the launch of Markle’s controversial brand, which was reportedly set to go live later this year.
According to her trademark filings, Meghan, 43, plans to sell tableware, drinkware, carafes, kitchen textiles and pantry items including jellies, jams, marmalades and spreads.
The Sussexes – pictured in Colombia last month – have also reportedly had ‘struggles’ in finding a CEO for Meghan’s new homewares and lifestyle venture, though sources close to the duchess have insisted she is happy to run the business herself.
Chrissy Teigen and her husband John Legend were among the A-listers who joined Meghan Markle’s select circle of ‘jamfluencers’ who got to try out her new product earlier this year
Her trademark application has already suffered a nasty setback when the USPTO said she had failed to pay $11,382 in international registration fees and other “irregularities” that needed to be “corrected.”
DailyMail.com exclusively reported the first trademark issues last month.
The USPTO’s decision is not yet final, and Markle’s attorneys can still appeal and revise their application to try to get at least some of her products approved.
A source close to the Sussexes told DailyMail.com that some communication with USPTO is “routine and expected when filing trademark applications” and that they expected Meghan to file a response with the office shortly.
This is the second time her trademark applications have been rejected.
In August 2023 the duchess abandoned a bid to trademark her podcast ‘Archewell’after the USPTO discovered that a self-help blog with the same name had already filed a successful application.
The Sussexes have also reportedly struggled to find a CEO for Meghan’s new homewares and lifestyle company, though sources close to the duchess have insisted she is happy to run the business herself.
And she also has to deal with a constant revolving door with her staff.
An insider told Closer Magazine that Prince Harry and his wife were ‘the toughest taskmasters’ with a high staff turnover.
“The numbers don’t lie and for nearly 20 staff members to resign based on these numbers is a story in itself,” the source told Closer. “It’s unprecedented, even for a startup.
‘The harsh reality is that Harry and Meghan are incredibly strict leaders. They are very demanding and difficult to work for. That rubs a lot of people the wrong way.’
Meghan has sent products like jam and dog biscuits to some friends, but there are now plans to start a rosé wine
Meghan Markle’s close friend and former Suits co-star Abigail Spencer was one of the lucky few to receive a limited-edition jar of the Duchess’s new American Riviera Orchard strawberry jam
The agency’s decision comes a year after the duchess abandoned an attempt to trademark her podcast “Archewell” after the USPTO discovered that a self-help blog of the same name had already filed a successful application.
Notable figures to leave the Sussexes included Meghan’s personal assistant Melissa Toubati in 2018, shortly after their wedding; Meghan’s female bodyguard in January 2019; senior communications secretary Jason Knauf in March 2019; and Queen Elizabeth’s former aide and Meghan’s private secretary Samantha Cohen in October 2019.
Knauf was later revealed to be the source of a bullying complaint against Markle, leading to a palace investigation.
No details of the outcome of the investigation were released and the Sussexes denied all allegations of bullying.
The couple’s head of PR, Sarah Latham, resigned when Harry and Meghan decided to leave the UK in 2020. The palace’s 14 other staff members were also let go at the time.
And American PR expert Christine Weil Schirmer joined the Sussexes as head of communications in 2020, but quietly left late last year.
Last month, their chief of staff, PR guru Josh Kettler, resigned after just three months on the job, becoming the latest member of staff to leave the Sussexes.
The decision was reportedly a “mutual” agreement at the end of Kettler’s trial period.