Meghan Markle Hits Another Sticky Snag with Jam Brand
The US Patent and Trademark Office is pushing back on the jam’s name and the design of the “O” in its logo.

Cailtin Ochs/Reuters
Meghan Markle may have to change the name of her long-awaited range of jams and various home goods. The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) previously deemed the American Riviera Orchard brand name “primarily geographically descriptive,” as it is “a common nickname for Santa Barbara, California.” Now, in a “non-final action” document, the USPTO questioned how the letter “O” (for “Orchard”) is depicted in the brand’s logo, the Daily Mail reports. The ornate lettering is “highly stylized” to the point it is “unrecognizable,” the USPTO wrote. Furthermore, “the current description is inconsistent with the mark on the drawing and is thus inaccurate,” the USPTO continued. “Descriptions must be accurate and identify only those literal and design elements appearing in the mark.” (Sources close to Markle told Vanity Fair, meanwhile, that the back-and-forth with the patent office has been ”routine and expected,” and that she will continue to work through the application process.) The USPTO has also queried “how broad” some of the descriptions of some of the proposed goods for sale are.
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