Meghan Markle And Prince Harry File Trademark For 'Sussex Royal'

By Emily Lee

December 29, 2019

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are making moves. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex filed a trademark for 'Sussex Royal,' which is both the name of their foundation and their Instagram handle. While the filing was made public just last week, People reports the trademark was actually filed back in June. As most royal watchers will remember, Meghan and Harry officially left their joint charity with Prince William and Kate Middleton around this time.

S, what exactly does filing a trademark mean? Trademarks are "a form of intellectual property protection, which can be registered to protect your brand, including its name," People reports. For Meghan and Harry, the application they applied for covers a varied list of items, including printed materials, clothing items, education, social care services and charitable fundraising, according to their filing.

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This evening, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the annual #WellChildAwards in London. WellChild aims to ensure every child and young person living with serious health needs has the best chance to thrive with the support and medical care needed in the comfort of their own home. The Duke of Sussex became Patron of WellChild in 2007, and last year both The Duke and Duchess attended the awards to honour the children and families that WellChild supports. The Duke, who first came to these awards over a decade ago, shared in his remarks tonight: “Last year when my wife and I attended we knew we were expecting our first child - no one else did at the time, but we did - and I remember squeezing Meghan’s hand so tightly during the awards, both of us thinking what it would be like to be parents one day, and more so, what it would be like to do everything we could to protect and help our child should they be born with immediate challenges or become unwell over time. And now, as parents, being here and speaking to all of you pulls at my heart strings in a way I could have never understood until I had a child of my own.” • To find out more about tonight’s event and how you can support this very special organisation, please visit @WellChild Photos ©️ PA images

A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on Oct 15, 2019 at 2:18pm PDT

Should Meghan and Harry's trademark be approved, they will own the phrase 'Sussex Royal.' This means that nobody else can profit from that phrase. For example, it will become illegal for other business to sell merchandise with the words 'Sussex Royal' on them. The Sussexes will be able to “take legal action against anyone who uses” the brand without their permission, as well.

Photo: Getty