From the American Riveria to Spain, Meghan Markle’s trademark struggles continue

The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, has faced a series of setbacks in finding a suitable brand for her passion of “cooking, crafting, and gardening.”

In 2024, Markle attempted to launch a lifestyle brand under the name ‘American Riviera Orchard.’ Through her corporate company, Mama Knows Best, LCC, Markle applied for several US trademarks to secure the rights of AMERICAN RIVIERA ORCHARD, covering a number of goods such as bakeware, tablecloths, jams, and coffee.

However, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) identified serious issues with the applications. Firstly, the USPTO established that the term ‘American Riviera’ was geographically descriptive of the origin of the goods, considering ‘America Riviera’ to be commonly used as a nickname for the city of Santa Barbara in California, close to where the Duchess resides.

Secondly, the USPTO found an issue with the term ‘orchard,’ deeming it to be descriptive for some of the goods, notably those related to food and beverages.  

The USPTO was also critical of the quality of the trademark applications, finding that, in one application, the ‘O’ was so heavily stylized that it could no longer be recognized as a letter and, therefore, did not correspond with the literal description of the verbal element claimed.

Unhappy with the mounting challenges, Markle decided to abandon her applications and start over. In February 2025, Markle announced via Instagram that her new brand would be called ‘As Ever,’ an expression that aims to capture her lifelong affinity with cooking and gardening.

Despite the rebranding, it seems the trademark issues continue to haunt Markle. Having filed an application with the USPTO already in 2022 for a large number of goods and services, including clothing, the USPTO ruled in 2023 that AS EVER was too similar to ASEVER, a mark owned by a budget Chinese clothing outlet selling clothes under that name. As a result, Markle was forced to remove ‘clothing’ from her trademark application.

Yet, the mark is still not in the clear. After the Instagram announcement, the Mayor of the Spanish town Porreres pointed out that the logo of ‘As Ever,’ two hummingbirds flying towards a palm tree, was an almost identical copy of the coats of arms of her town, which also consist of a palm tree with hummingbirds hovering on either side. Whether the small town will file a trademark (or copyright) claim remains to be seen, with the Mayor recently commenting it had insufficient means “to litigate Royals.”

One can wonder why someone as prolific as Markle, with the power to give immediate attention to a brand, apparently failed to do a more thorough assessment of earlier rights and possible grounds for refusal. Whatever the outcome of the Duchess’ trademark struggles, it shows that the importance of trademark clearance cannot be underestimated, but, unfortunately, often is (as ever!).

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