‘I DIDN’T LOVE THAT’
Meghan Markle finally addresses As Ever trademark drama & blames ‘word salad’ for forcing her to rebrand name
She told her podcast about when she secured the name
MEGHAN Markle has broken her silence on the drama surrounding her As Ever trademark on her new podcast.
Speaking on Confessions of a Female Founder, Meghan revealed she "secured" the trademark back in 2022.
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The 43-year-old has been embroiled in copycat drama over her brand since its launch.
Meghan told her podcast today: "I had secured As Ever as a name in 2022, and then as everything started to evolve last year, and bringing in a partner the size that it was, it was just so interesting."
She was speaking to her own hair colourist and "dear friend" Kadi Lee on the podcast.
Lee is the co-founder of hair wellness brand Highbrow Hippie, which Meghan reportedly invested in last year.
The Duchess of Sussex told her: "You remember, I said, 'I like American Riviera as an umbrella,' and then be able to have verticals beneath it. And maybe have the 'Orchard' really small. But when that's not feasible … suddenly it became this word salad. I didn't love that so much.
"I was like, 'OK, let's go back to the thing that I've always loved. Let's use the name that I protected for a reason that had sort of been under wraps'.
"And then we were able to focus in the quiet and put our heads down and build on something that no one was sniffing around to even see about. It was really just helpful to have that quiet period."
Last month, she was told to change the application for the As Ever trademark.
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If she doesn't respond within three months, she will have to abandon it.
Her original name for the business was American Riviera Orchard, but the Duchess said she was forced to change it because the term "limited" her to ingredients that are made in the area.
It later emerged that American Riviera is a nickname for Santa Barbara, and the patent office refused Meghan's application because businesses can't trademark places.
She announced the name change in an excited Instagram post: "Some of you may have heard whispers about what I’ve been creating. In two weeks, my series on launches — but there’s something else I’ve been working on.
"I’m thrilled to introduce you to As Ever — a brand that I created and have poured my heart into.
"‘As ever’ means ‘as it’s always been’ or some even say ‘in the same way as always’. If you’ve followed along since my days of creating The Tig, you’ll know this couldn’t be truer for me.
"This new chapter is an extension of what has always been my love language, beautifully weaving together everything I cherish — food, gardening, entertaining, thoughtful living, and finding joy in the everyday.
"I will keep sharing behind the scenes tidbits with you here as we ramp up to launch, and I can’t wait for you to get your hands on everything we’ve been creating. Sending lots of love…"
But there was fresh backlash over Meghan's new logo because it is also the symbol of a Majorcan village.
The palm tree with two birds is the official coat of arms of Porreres, and the mayor slammed Meghan's brand, calling it a "total copy".
In a further clash, a New York clothing brand that is also called As Ever warned it was looking into "possibilities" to fight back but later admitted it doesn't own the trademark.
At the start of the month, Meghan launched As Ever with a range of items for sale from £11 jars of jam to £22 limited edition honey.
Within half-an-hour the range was out of stock, prompting Meghan to post on Instagram: "Our shelves may be empty, but my heart is full!"
However marketing experts cast doubt on the success, suggesting it was a "ploy".
It comes after experts warned the Duchess of Sussex is struggling to find her target audience.
One asked: "Does it actually have a point to this or is it just because she is Meghan, Duchess of Sussex?"
Her podcast will feature eight episodes and focus on Meghan's journey as an entrepreneur.
Her guest stars have so far included Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd and American lawyer and politician Reshma Saujani.
Meghan's podcast follows her eight-part Netflix series, With Love, Meghan, which saw her making meals and crafting with Hollywood pals.
In her latest episode, Meghan greeted Lee by saying: "Disregard the state of my hair right now. I'm so excited I'm seeing you next week. I should have a baseball cap on."
The Duchess said the pair met in 2020 - the year of Megxit when Meghan and the Duke of Sussex quit the working monarchy for a new life in the US - and told of her attempts to dye her own hair at home during the pandemic.
Meghan said: "It was 2020 - it was very much 2020."
She added: "My family had just moved to California. We were staying in our friend's home and, because it was the pandemic, I kept ordering boxed hair dye, and I thought I'm gonna look just like she does on the box.
"And instead it was this very inky, almost Elvira-esque black hair."
Lee, who was called in at the time to help Meghan with her hair, said: "I remember meeting you guys, and you were so warm and both you and H wrapped us up in these big bear hugs and I was like 'I don't even know these people and I'm not a hugger but let's do it'."
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Reflecting on having to close her hair salon during the pandemic, Lee added: "It felt like such whiplash and it felt like, gosh we cannot get a break, you know?"
Meghan laughed and added: "Oh, I understand."
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Seven times Meghan Markle faced ‘copycat’ claims – from ‘rip-off’ speech to Netflix show & mimicking Gwyneth Paltrow
By Thea Jacobs
MEGHAN Markle is never short of big, bold ideas, but sometimes you might feel like you've seen them before.
In February, the Duchess of Sussex, 43, relaunched her American Riviera Orchard lifestyle brand and revealed its new name, As Ever - only to be accused of copying her logo from a small Majorcan town.
The design features a palm tree with two birds, one either side, and is remarkably similar to the coat of arms of Porreres on the Spanish island.
The town's mayor, Francisca Mora Veny, was considering taking legal action against the royal and has asked Meghan to remove the logo.
Ms Mora told The Sun: “We don’t want our coat of arms to be perverted because it belongs exclusively to Porreres.
“The only difference with their logo and our coat of arms is that theirs shows two hummingbirds and in ours are either swallows or pigeons — historians cannot agree.
"We will ask Meghan to remove the logo from their website.”
The duchess has yet to respond to the comments. It is understood the logo was designed with a palm tree as a nod to the couple’s home in Montecito, while the two hummingbirds are said to be a favourite of Prince Harry’s.
But it's not the first time she has come under fire for seemingly copying others.
Same As Ever
In another "plagiarism" row to hit her rebrand, Meghan has come under fire from a shop owner whose store has been called 'As Ever' for years.
The New York company posted about their concerns for the future of their line on social media, thanking customers for sticking by them.
While designer and owner Mark Kolaski doesn't have the name trademarked, he believes he has common law rights to sell clothing using it since he has been doing business as “As Ever” since 2017.
Mark exclusively told The Sun: "I’m a very small business, it’s a family-run operation. I’m essentially a one man band.
"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.”
Goops!
When Meghan initially launched her new lifestyle brand last year, after leaving the royal family, fans were quick to notice the promo for American Riviera Orchard was very similar to Goop by Gwyneth Paltrow.
The short promotional video featured Meghan cooking a chicken, which might have been a nod to how Prince Harry proposed, with lemons and other ingredients in the foreground.
One viewer commented: "She’s totally copying one of Gwyneth Paltrow’s early Goop videos — the roasted chicken one."
A second user @SluethyGoosey added: "Omg lemons and all!"
The brand, which has been renamed As Ever, will feature tips from cooking to gardening and "finding joy".
She referenced that it would be similar to her defunct lifestyle blog The Tig.
Kitchen nightmare
Earlier this year, the Duchess announced her new Netflix show, With Love, Meghan.
It was quickly put under fire when fans noted that recipes and hobbies showcased in the series didn't appear to be original ideas.
Viewers were quick to compare her to Emma Weymouth, Marchioness of Bath and her show, Emma's Kitchen.
In particular, they thought the format looked like a very similar setup to the cooking show, which was established in 2015.
One viewer wrote: "Why is Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex trying to channel Emma Thynn, Marchioness of Bath?
"TBH, Emma seems more natural while Meghan often seems like she's acting from a script. I think Meghan should focus strictly on charity work."
Another tweeted similar still images from each show side by side, writing: "Emma Weymouth, Marchioness of Bath, has had a cooking programme at Longleat estate for nine years!"
Meghan was also criticised for showcasing her love of beekeeping, a hobby that Kate Middleton has spoken about previously.
No kidding
Back in 2021, Meghan decided to make the classic celebrity foray into children's books.
She released The Bench, which is about the special relationship between a father and his son.
Meghan claimed it was inspired by seeing Prince Harry's bond with their son Archie, who was two years old when it was published.
But shortly after it was announced, she came under fire for copying 2018 kids book The Boy On The Bench by British author Corrinne Averiss.
However, Corrinne hit back at the allegations and said that the books were not the same.
She tweeted: "Reading the description and published excerpt of the Duchess's new book, this is not the same story or the same theme as The Boy on the Bench. I don't see any similarities."
Corrinne's book focuses on a young boy who can't see a space for him in the playground while sitting on a bench with his dad.
Cover to cover
Before announcing Megxit in January 2020, one of Meghan's last projects while a working member of the royal family was guest-editing Vogue.
She opted to focus the cover of the September 2019 issue on "Forces for Change" which featured 15 black and white photos of influential women.
She received a lot of praise for the issue, but quickly it became apparent there were similarities to a book she had been involved in called The Game Changers.
Like the Vogue cover, the book, which was published three years prior, features black and white portraits of influential women, including the duchess, on the cover.
One of the authors, Samantha Brett, told the Daily Mail: "It’s obviously very flattering, she obviously likes our concept!
“I love Meghan and am a huge fan, but if what people are alerting us to is true, then it’s extremely disappointing.”
People were quick to point out other similarities between the magazine and book.
One wrote on social media: “It’s not just the cover either; Royal officials said the Vogue issue featured ‘trailblazing change-makers united by their fearlessness’
“A publicity blurb for The Game Changers from 2016 said it was about ‘fearless, trailblazing’ women who were changing the world.”
Spot the difference
As part of their new lives after leaving the UK, Meghan and Harry signed a $20million, multi-year deal with Spotify to make podcasts.
While the deal quickly turned sour, Meghan did release her Archetypes podcast which lasted for 12 episodes.
In a blurb for the podcast, it claims it "investigates, dissects, and subverts the labels that try to hold women back".
It also said the series would "speak with historians and experts to uncover the origin of these stereotypes and have uncensored conversations with women who know all too well how these typecasts shape our narrative".
Not long after the first episode came out, people were quick to point out she appeared to have copied a book called Archetypes: Who Are You.
The writer, Caroline Myss, says the book looks at the ten types of archetypes that have appeared in today's society.
"My guess is Meghan read this book and copied her entire podcast idea from it," one commented.
The podcast was dropped after just one series.
Taking the mic
Even before Meghan became a member of the British Royal Family, she appeared to be looking to others for inspiration.
In her speech for International Women's Day at the UN in 2015, she was accused of lifting whole chunks from one delivered by former First Lady of the United States Eleanor Roosevelt.
She finished off her speech saying: “It isn't enough to talk about equality. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it.”
Decades earlier, Eleanor had used the exact same wording to discuss the need for peace.
The original quote was: “It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it.”
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