Meghan Markle slapped with ‘ban’ in latest marketing disaster

The Duchess of Sussex has received a fresh blow to her newly launched brand, As Ever, as it has been revealed she will not be able to sell clothing as its name is too similar to another company

Meghan’s new brand As Ever has been banned from selling clothes (
Image: As Ever)

Meghan Markle has been banned from marketing clothing under her newly launched ‘As Ever’ brand due to its resemblance to a budget-friendly Chinese fashion retailer.

According to documents, the Duchess of Sussex’s legal team submitted a trademark application to the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in October 2022. The filing sought approval to sell a range of products, including aprons, jams, dog treats, and apparel, under the ‘As Ever’ brand.

However, in July 2023, the USPTO issued a comprehensive 145-page ruling that partially denied the trademark request. Officials determined that Meghan’s proposed brand name bore too much similarity to ASEVER, a Shenzhen-based clothing brand that supplies major retailers like H&M.

Meghan excitedly told her followers about the new brand ( 
Image:
Meghan/Instagram)

As Ever will launch alongside a documentary with Netflix ( 
Image:
Meghan/Instagram)
The trademark office papers, which were obtained by the Mail on Sunday, stated: “The marks are identical in sound and virtually identical in appearance and are thus confusingly similar to determine likelihood of confusion.” Citing ‘clothing category Class 25,’ the USPTO returned the application to Meghan’s legal representatives, explicitly refusing registration due to the potential for consumer confusion.

By January 2024, Meghan’s legal team submitted a revised application, this time omitting clothing from the list of products. With this adjustment, the ‘As Ever’ trademark was officially approved. A trademark expert based in Los Angeles told the site that if Meghan does decide to sell clothing under the As Ever brand she will risk being sued.

This trademark hurdle marks another challenge in Meghan’s much-anticipated lifestyle brand rollout. Her ‘As Ever’ product line is set to launch in partnership with Netflix, aligning with her upcoming lifestyle series, With Love, Meghan, which premieres on March 4.

The new brand has already come up against some hurdles ( 
Image:
As Ever)
Her initial brand name choice, American Riviera Orchard, was rejected by the USPTO due to regulations prohibiting the trademarking of geographic locations. Additionally, food company Harry & David contested the name, citing similarities to their Royal Riviera pear brand.

Meghan previously shared on Instagram that ‘American Riviera’ is a nickname for Santa Barbara, California, the upscale coastal city near Montecito, where she and Prince Harry reside in a $14.5 million mansion.

Just hours after Meghan Markle announced her new lifestyle brand name in an excitable Instagram video the Duchess of Sussex faced a backlash. The mayor of a town on the Spanish island of Mallorca claimed Meghan had ‘copied’ its coat of arms when revealing her name logo that shows a palm tree flanked by two hummingbirds.

A town in Mallorca claims Meghan has plagerised their logo ( 
Image:
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Then it emerged the brand shares its name with a New York-based clothing brand. The Instagram video where Meghan announced the change was also said to have a sly dig at the Royal Family after she claimed she hadn’t been able to share the cooking, gardening and crafting tips that she loves for several years.

But former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond told the Mirror that the negativity against Meghan had been unfair – and her video actually portrayed simple statements of fact.

She said: “Lots of new ventures hit teething problems and Meghan’s was no exception. She obviously should have been advised to research the copyright of her chosen brand name, but we all make mistakes. She has now tried to put the best spin on these early setbacks.

“I don’t think she was making a dig at the Royals by saying she hadn’t been able to share her cooking and gardening tips for the past few years. It is simply a statement of fact. She didn’t sound bitter or resentful about it. She sounded delighted that she is now free to resume what she has already proved to herself to be extremely good at: selling lifestyle ideas and suggestions.”