Meghan Markle has again found herself at the center of a major controversy after she unveiled a new name and logo of her old American Riviera Orchard brand. Turns out that like the previous name, the new name ‘As Ever’ is stolen from a small New York-based vintage clothing company. And the logo featuring a palm tree and two birds is exactly the emblem of a small Spanish town, Porrers, its mayoress Xisca Moral claimed. Both entities claimed that they are too small to sue the Duchess of Sussex.
As Ever: ‘We will not change our name’
NYC clothing brand As Ever said they have been made aware that a namesake brand was announced and their company has no affiliation with that. The company’s founder, Mark Kolski, said he launched his business in 2017 and the company is based in New York and New Jersey. “I’m a very small business, it’s a family-run operation. I’m essentially a one-man brand,” he said. “This new venture has the power and money of Netflix behind it.” “Even if I wanted to do something I don’t think I have the behemoth of lawyers and money that are behind this,” he added.
Kolski said he does not own a trademark over the name but he had a common law right to the name as he’s been using the name for eight years and he won’t change his brand’s name for Meghan.
As Ever’s logo also stolen?
Mayoress Xisca Mora said the town’s heraldic coat of arms dates back to 1370 and is a part of the town’s cultural heritage. The mayoress said it was a bit shocking that the duchess picked the same emblem for her brand. “They are the same, except the birds are a little different and they used different colours, but they are nearly identical.”
“The truth is that although this has given our once-unknown town some publicity in just a few hours, we don’t like our coat of arms being used, we want them to pull the logo,” the mayoress said.
“To sue for plagiarism is complicated and costly, and a small town council like ours is not in a position to fight against the English crown.”
What happened to American Riviera Orchard?
US Patents and Trademark Office said businesses cannot trademark geographical locations. As Meghan Markle revealed the new name for her brand, she gave a little walk-through of what happened so far. She said American Riviera is a nickname for Santa Barbara and she initially thought it was a great name but it limited her to things manufactured only in the area.
“Then Netflix came on, not just as my partner in the show, but as my partner in my business, which was huge. So I thought about it, and I’ve been waiting for a moment to share a name that I had secured in 2022, and this is the moment, and it’s called As Ever,” Meghan said.