Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s trademark application for Archewell had faced a set back before it even kicked off because it got rejected.
Earlier this year, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced the name of their charity, Archewell. It was named after their son, Archie. However, their trademark application for it was denied.
Prince Harry and Meghan’s new trademark rejected
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle filed paperwork for their new charitable foundation earlier this year. It was one of the things they immediately do after leaving the royal family.
However, things didn’t run smoothly for the couple and their new charity. The U.S. patenting and trademarking documents denied their trademark application due to several errors.
According to The Sun, the U.S.Patent and Trademark Office rejected it because it was “too vague.” The royal couple also didn’t pay all the fees required.
“The wording ‘providing a website featuring content relating to philanthropy, monetary giving, volunteer and career opportunities’ in International Class 35 is also indefinite and over broad, and must be clarified to specify the nature of the content provided,” the Irregularity Notice read.
Prince Harry and Markle’s list of goods and services listed for the non-profit was too broad for the purpose of classifications.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have to complete the recommended changes by August 22. Otherwise, their application will be “abandoned.”
Sussexes next action
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have to do some actions on their end to complete their application.
For instance, they have to affix their signatures in the application.
“The application was unsigned, resulting in the application not being properly verified,” the examiner claimed in the Non-Final Office Action.
Additionally, the Sussexes have to pay for some additional fees to process their applications.
The publication noted that getting rejected when filing for a trademark is not really surprising. In fact, even the most diligently drafted application gets rejected.
Also, one in five fails in their first examination.
Royal couple criticized for bad timing
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle revealed the name of their charity in April. However, many were not happy with the timing because it happened while the world fights against the coronavirus pandemic.
Royal expert and commentator Phil Dampier among those who criticized the couple’s move. According to him, the announcement had an “appalling timing.”
“If I were Harry and Meghan I would have laid low until this situation (coronavirus) was over,” Dampier told Daily Mail.
“People everywhere are really concerned with dealing with this and it does not look good, however good the cause is.”
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