Meghan’s trademark for American Riviera Orchard is officially dead: US Patent Office lists project as ‘abandoned’ after Duchess decided to change her brand to ‘As Ever’

Meghan Markle’s trademark paperwork to secure the brand name American Riviera Orchard has officially been ‘abandoned,’ according to the US Patent and Trademark Office.

The Duchess of Sussex, 43, originally filed an application to acquire her passion project on March 19 last year.

Since then, the mother-of-two, who lives in Montecito, has faced numerous issues with the paperwork, with the office telling her that she cannot have exclusive rights to American Riviera because it is a commonly used place name to describe the California coast where she and Harry live.  

Documents were also sent over unsigned and her team had applied for 19 different classes but only paid enough cash to cover 17 trading groups, meaning Meghan was told to send over another £533 to cover the shortfall. 

Another firm owning the trademark ‘Royal Riviera’ also challenged the application, placing another spanner in the works. 

The former royal wanted to sell ultra trendy ‘fruit butters’, ‘legume-based spreads’, cookbooks, tableware, holiday cards, printed stationery, lanterns and ‘edible oils and fats’ under the name.

However, on Saturday, her dream to secure American Riviera Orchard came to an end, with Femail uncovering that the project is officially listed as ‘dead’. 

The US Patent and Trademark Office said the status was ‘abandoned because the applicant filed an express abandonment’.

The Duchess of Sussex, 43, originally filed an application to acquire American Riviera Orchard on March 19 last year

Meghan Markle’s trademark paperwork to secure the brand name American Riviera Orchard has officially been ‘abandoned’

Meghan said on February 18 that her venture was being renamed because the brand name limited her to locally-produced goods

It appears that the Duchess filed to desert American Riviera Orchard on February 28, with it status being confirmed as withdrawn a couple of days later. 

Meghan said on February 18 that her venture was being renamed because the brand name limited her to locally-produced goods. 

She said: ‘Last year, I had thought, ‘American Riviera’, that sounds like such a great name. It’s my neighbourhood; it’s a nickname for Santa Barbara, but it limited me to things that were just manufactured and grown in this area.

‘Then Netflix came on, not just as a partner in this show but also as a partner in my business, it was huge.

‘So I thought about it and I’ve been waiting for a moment to share a name I secured in 2022 and this is the moment and it’s called As Ever.’ 

She announced the launch just two weeks before the release of her Netflix show With Love, Meghan, after it was delayed from its original January launch date due to the LA Wildfires. 

The former Suits star invited close friend and fellow actress Abigail Spencer and the comedian Mindy Kaling to be on her eight-part series which is due to be released on Tuesday. 

In what the Sussexes hope will be a new money-spinner, products will include food such as ‘fruit preserves’, as Meghan grandly called them today, adding: ‘I think we’re all clear at this point that jam is my jam’.

Meghan Markle said on her Instagram that she ‘secured’ the name ‘As Ever’ in 2022 

Stars such as Kris Jenner, Chrissy Teigen, and Delfina Blaquier became known as ‘jamfluencers’ as they pictured themselves posing with jars they’d been sent from Meghan

American Riviera Orchard emerged last year when Meghan began sending jams in limited edition jars to her most famous friends to share on social media, helping its Instagram gain more than half a million followers. 

Stars such as Kris Jenner, Chrissy Teigen, and Delfina Blaquier became known as ‘jamfluencers’ as they pictured themselves posing with jars they had been sent by Meghan. 

But the brand eventually hit a wall, with many wondering whether it would ever materialise. 

In her Instagram clip, Meghan also appeared to take a dig at the royals and the sacrifices Meghan felt she made when she fell in love with her husband, after she had not been able to share her passion for food and home for ‘years’ after she shut her lifestyle blog The Tig.

‘As Ever essentially means as it’s always been, and if you’ve followed me since 2014 with The Tig, you know I’ve always loved cooking and crafting and gardening — this is what I do,’ she said. 

‘And I haven’t been able to share it with you in the same way for the past few years, but now I can, so as things are starting to trickle out there, I wanted you to hear it from me first’. 

Patent applications uncovered by MailOnline suggest that As Ever will also sell textiles such as tablecloths and napkins, skincare and haircare products and throws, blankets, bedspreads and household scents such as candles and diffusers.

Meghan’s highly anticipated Netflix series With Love, Meghan is due to begin streaming on March 4

Meghan Markle appeared to launch her new website ‘As Ever’ ahead of her Netflix cookery show – before the page was mysteriously taken down

There will also be gardening trowels, spades and pruning shears and inside the home, there will be cutlery and kitchen knives.

Meghan says As Ever’s products will include jam but added that it will be like The Tig and include ‘cooking and crafting and gardening’.

She also confirmed that Netflix is a business partner after MailOnline revealed that her products will be sold in two malls in the US at the streaming giant’s new bricks and mortar store. 

Meghan, wearing a white linen shirt and blue jeans, told fans: ‘The cat’s out of the bag.

‘I’m shocked we’ve kept this a secret for so long. In two weeks my show is coming out, which I’m so excited for. And also my business, which I think there has been a lot of curiosity about. 

‘Last year, I had thought, ‘American Riviera, that sounds like such a great name.’ It’s my neighborhood; it’s a nickname for Santa Barbara, but it limited me to things that were just manufactured and grown in this area.’

‘Then Netflix came on, not just as my partner in the show, but as my partner in my business. which was huge.

It comes as the Duchess’s cooking show With Love, Meghan (pictured), is set to launch next month on Netflix

Meghan, hand in hand with a child who appears to be her daughter Lilibet, in the cover photo for her new brand’s website

 ‘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.

‘Of course, there will be fruit preserves; I think we’re all clear at this point that jam is my jam. But there are so many more products that I I just love, and now it’s time to share them with you. So I just can’t wait for you to see it. Thanks guys!’

It has also emerged that the Duchess is planning to sell biscuit and pancake mixes under As Ever, trademark filings have revealed.

On the list are goods that will compete with big names such as Betty Crocker and Dr Oetker, including ‘mixes for bakery goods; cookie mixes; biscuit mixes; crepe mixes’, which come under international trademark class 30, a category for food products.

The application was made by ‘2022 Trademarks LLC (LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY; Delaware, USA)’, which is a company set up by Meghan’s representatives.