Meghans trademark not allowed

[Viviennemary]

The patent office apparently has turned down the trademark of Meghans new jam making business American Riviera Orchard on the grounds that you can't trademark geographical locations. You would have thought somebody would have picked up on this before now.

Yes. Also, the Tig was co-wrote and produced by ‘a friend’ who isn’t credited anywhere. I can’t remember her name but she now has her own successful blog for which she has full credit for. Meghan is used to other people doing the donkey work and her taking the glory.

It’s a little bit like Harry “founding” invictus. 🙄

Except there's no suggestion that ARO profits will be used for charity, is there, unless I have missed it? The products sold through Flamingo Estate by people like Julianna Moore - $250 limited number pots of honey from her own bee hives - are sold for charity, but then Ms Moore doesn't need the money (which would be small change for her) or profile boost, as is probably doing it as a simple charitable endeavour regardless. Markle needs to make a living from ARO, and I just don't see how that's going happen unless she buys in a load of cheap, mass produced basics and slaps her logo over them for mass market sales.

I don't think it's normal, but it's possible that it will prove to be just a blip. She has 3 months to sort out the issues raised on the current application (and pay the correct fee). If that can be done, then it could go still go ahead.

Won't she have to come up with a completely new name though? That's a bit more than a blip.

If I were a betting woman, I would put serious money on ARO or whatever it might be called never seeing the light of day. It can soon be added to the list of half arsed failed projects. She's probably bored of it already.

That’s what I thought she was going to do and the one that made the most sense. Can never get it right.

I’d forgotten the charity part of Newman’s sauces when I mentioned them. So without a benevolent reason to buy H&M’s products they would be even less likely to sell.

Who’d want to put money in their pockets?

I can see the attraction in their books and interviews because they tell a story. But jam, cookware, tea towels and cutlery? I really don’t think so.

Presumably ‘Sussex’ would get turned down as part of a trademark too, being geographical.

The failure to gain an appropriate trademark to protect American Riviera Orchard might have more consequences than delaying the launch of the venture. There’s been speculation that Netflix was going to get involved via the much-mentioned cooking and lifestyle show - a joint venture, if you will. But it’s incredibly unlikely that any big commercial player would get involved with something where they can’t protect the value of the brand.

And this development, coupled with the blog posted on the thread (from a self-confessed fan of the Sussexes) does suggest that no serious advance work went into the March launch. Mistakes like this make them look very much small-time, when they are chasing big-time partner and investors.

No suggestion at all that I've seen, I was just musing on starting small as a way of building a brand. I think this was meant to be the big, longterm moneyspinner, but all the false starts and disasters aside, I can't imagine how they thought it would work like that. I've said before that there are people with a tiny business on Etsy with better impact than ARO has had, with all the resources imaginable.

One thing that struck me is that this will also be given hawklike scrutiny. With their "philanthropic" credentials, if there is any hint that they are passing off dodgy product as artisan, or if there is a whiff of scandal about any of their suppliers, it will not be kept quiet.

Is it because The Tig is associated with her commoner caterpillar days?
Now she's a royal butterfly* she needs a brand new...er... well...brand.

*Other insects are available.

Dunno!

I was wondering if she could fiddle with the existing name - maybe protecting just the Riviera Orchard bit ifthat makes it non-specific enough geographically; or change it to Meghan's Orchard (or Sussex Orchard? but that doesn't have the same ring to it at all); or keep the name but sell products with a different brand (like M&S used to sell St Michael, or Decathlon sell Kiprun, Quechua etc)

@BunnyLake maybe she can't then due to there being a co-author as mentioned upthread, maybe there are some legal issues over it which would account for her not doing the simplest option.
or maybe she wants something altogether "royaler" and more grandiose

Absolutely, she can’t reopen The Tig because she wouldn’t know where to start/what to do. It’s always someone else’s talent she surfs on the back of. Like the blog she had before The Tig, the anonymous working actress blog, she had help with that too.
Also, she wouldn’t achieve the followers that she had due to her popularity problem on both sides of the pond. Influencers depend on people liking them and wanting to emulate.

Or she changes the name officially to 'ARO' and drops the American Riveria Orchard name altogether..

If I were a betting woman, I would put serious money on ARO or whatever it might be called never seeing the light of day

I'll have a fiver on that alongside you, @IcedPurple

Also, as others have said, how does this work with the idea that Netflix were supposed to be backing the launch with the "cooking series" said to have already been filmed?

If the start-up's pushed back to next year that'll put it perilously close to when their contract with Netflix is up for renewal, and if there's still nothing happening with ARO I can see them pulling the plug (which many believe they'll do anyway)

Praying mantis ... may accommodate PH's expression these days 🤔

Isn’t St Michael M&S’s brand in Ireland?

Maybe H&M could launch American Riviera Orchard in the US and call it Skegness Fruit Delights in the UK?

So I’m guessing that KFC trademark their logos and secret recipe of herbs and spices but the name itself isn’t a trademark because of the word Kentucky ? I have seen SFC (southern fried chicken) used as an abbreviation.

Not sure, but I think Kentucky Fried Chicken got a bit submerged by soundy-likees like Southern, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana Dixie etc etc Fried Chicken.

The Colonel’s avuncular face is presumably their prized trademark asset.

Which prompts the thought…why doesn’t Harry trademark his image as a smiling Southern gentleman? California fried jam with grits and corn dog! It’d be a triumph!

Which prompts the thought…why doesn’t Harry trademark his image as a smiling Southern gentleman? California fried jam with grits and corn dog! It’d be a triumph!

PooH would definitely be a good name
for that 😆

They'd have major trademark issues with that one, and be up against Disney!

Disney used to pay the Milne family and the Pooh Trust for the rights, but bought it outright (according to google) in 2001. It's non-exclusive now, but I think any application would fall foul of the "similar to an existing brand" condition

Pity

Snopes says that the boot was on the other foot - the State of Kentucky trademarked itself and so in 1991 Kentucky Fried Chicken changed to KFC to avoid having to pay the State license fees to keep using the name! I guess under American law, the State can do things that private businesses can’t.

KFC have loads of the brand trademarked - the name, the Colonel Sanders picture, the slogan “Finger Licking Good”…

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/kfc-and-fried/

Fascinating! Thank you.

Kentucky Fried Chicken has been going since 1930, so may have predated the current rules on place names in protected brand names. Or as it was originally from Kentucky, it could perhaps have included the place name because even today place names can sometimes be included if there is a genuine link - that's where American Riviera falls down as that refers to Santa Barbara not Montecito and it seems nothing in the application establishes a sufficient link to the geographic area of the name.

The official name of the company these days is KFC, which I assume is trademarked as the initials

Oh god I had a boss like this (shudder) I was always the dream squasher with my sensible ideas.

This might be an explanation why it can't be resurrected. Particularly if Meghan and the friend have fallen out.

It doesn't sound like ARO is a goer.

Slight derail - did The Crown ever get into H&M's relationship? There was some William and Kate I think.