Prince Harry And Meghan Markle’s Sussex Royal Trademark Is Under Threat
If you’re planning to stock up on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Sussex Royal merchandise and clothing range, you might be waiting a while.
After news broke that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were stepping down as ‘senior members’ of the royal family earlier this month, royal fans have speculated as to possible ‘Megxit’ commercial deals that the couple could pursue, now that that they won’t be receiving public funding.
With the Duchess' Disney voiceover in the pipeline, the launch of the couple’s own website and rumours of a Netflix deal circulating, the reputation of the Sussex Royal brand has been growing from strength-to-strength.
However, the royal couple’s hopes to trademark the term Sussex Royal has been blocked following several complaints.
A quick look at the status of the application and you'll see that a notice of threatened opposition was filed on Tuesday 21 January, as well as three further complaints on Friday 24 January.
The couple filed the trademark in June 2019 which lead to an ‘opposition period’ during which anyone can issue a complaint to the UK Intellectual Property Office.
The period of opposition originally was stated to end on February 20 but has been extended by exactly a month following the complaints.
It is believed that the complaints might delay the royal couple’s intentions to use the brand name.
According to documents issued by the Intellectual Property Office, the Duke and Duchess have trademarked several items including instructional and teaching materials, clothing (footwear, headgear, T-shirts etc) and campaigns.
The pair first used the term 'Sussex Royal' when they launched their Instagram account in April 2019 ahead of the birth of their son Archie.
However, the World Trade Review recently stated that additional issues in the couple’s hopes to use the Sussex Royal trademark in future might reside in the use of the word ‘royal’.
‘One key element of the debate is due to provisions in the UK Trademarks Act 1994 – and therefore in practice at the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) – which prevents the registration of trademarks incorporating the word ROYAL in some circumstances,’ the publication explained earlier this week.
However, it also explains that the UKIPO trademark examination manual doesn’t always rule out the term ‘royal’ in branded names.
According to the manual: 'The word “royal” is unlikely to indicate Royal patronage or authorisation for everyday items [eg, insurance or financial services, double glazing services, provision of electricity] or for goods which are far enough removed from any association with the Royal family [eg, skateboards, computers, computer games or T-shirts.
‘However, some potentially problematic goods and services that could indicate a royal link include high quality porcelain and glassware, luxury foods, exhibitions, tourism, and charitable services.'
Lee Curtis, a chartered trademark attorney at intellectual property organisation HGF, told the publication that it is unlikely the aforementioned provisions will ultimately prevent the royal pair from obtaining the trademark.
Curtis explained that while the couple won’t use the term ‘HRH’, they will still be members of the royal family, Harry had royal patronage at the time the trademark was filed and it is ‘likely that explicit consent from the Queen would override any opposition, if needed’.
Since agreeing on their future involvement in the royal family with Queen Elizabeth II earlier this month, the Palace announced that the couple will no longer use their HRH titles and will not receive public funds for royal duties.
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