Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Accused of Stealing Her New Logo: ‘They Are Nearly Identical’

As Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, tries to resuscitate her lifestyle brand with a new name, a town in Spain is crying foul because the brand logo is similar to its coat of arms.

As noted by New York Magazine, which snarked that Megan gave her brand a “New, Still Bad Name,” Meghan failed in her efforts to secure a trademark for “American Riviera Orchard.”

That led her to announce Tuesday that the name for the jam and other items she hopes to sell is now “As Ever,” according to the U.K.’s Daily Mail.

The brand’s logo, a palm tree and two birds, is similar to the coat of arms of the Spanish town of Porreres, whose mayor wants the logo changed.

Mayor Xisca Mora said the similarity to the 1370 coat of arms brought a deluge of inquiries to the town.

“We are still a bit shocked. We thought it was fake news at first. We didn’t know what was happening. Then loads of newspapers and media started calling us, and we realized it was serious,” she said.

“They are the same, except the birds are a little different and they used different colors, but they are nearly identical,” she said, calling the likeness “undeniable.”

“All jokes aside, we really want them to change the logo because our coat of arms is very special to our culture and has been linked to our town since it was founded hundreds of years ago. Every single town in Mallorca has its own symbol or coat of arms, and it is very important to our identity, and people are upset that ours is being used to sell products like jam around the world,” she said.

Mora said the town’s will is clear: “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.”

“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,” she said.

Mora said the town would be happy to do business with Meghan.

“We have the best jam in the world,” she said, saying local farmers would be pleased if Meghan markets the product.

One expert said the issue should have been noticed.

“At this point, it is becoming a comedy of errors, and thus far, they are entirely self-inflicted, unforced errors — I say that objectively, as someone simply calling balls and strikes,” branding expert Doug Eldridge said, according to Fox News.

“Given its more than 1,000-year history, even an AI-generated search algorithm would likely have discovered the overlap.” Elridge said.

Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams said the incident was “hilarious.”

“The logo is very similar,” Fitzwilliams said. “It was surely the responsibility of Meghan and her team to make sure this sort of mess did not happen. If Porreres sues, it will make them a laughingstock.”

The brand name Meghan has claimed is already used by a small clothing company in New York City, according to The Sun.

Mark Kolski, 58, who has operated As Ever since 2017, said he was “exploring all possibilities”.

“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,” he said.

Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.