The Invictus Games is over so we thought, because, as ever, the Harkles have begun to drip feed further images from behind the scene visits during their PR visit to Canada. This time there were images of the duo interacting with babies from the First Nation, but that wasn’t the highlight of the games.
Many would have loved to have been the person to push TW down the mountain when she went snow tubing, but as always, the games seemed to be about what it could do for TW’s profile rather than the veterans. When TW did leave, allegedly to look after the children, many seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and she wasn’t missed.
However, it is not a worldwide event that people are interested in, and while some are excited about the games in Birmingham in July 2027, those who aren’t in the UK won’t know that Birmingham in bankrupt, and the bins (garbage) has not been collected for weeks as the bin men are on strike and have scheduled strikes for the next few months. The council has had to sell old police stations to raise money to pay for basic services, and so I really don’t understand all this alleged excitement because even the games are being privately funded, they still have to use the city infrastructure such as transport and hotels. Again, with the new Labour government, will the pledged funds from the previous government still exist? Seeing as many pensioners who lost their winter fuel payment are either dead or lying ill in a hospital bed or corridor, if they do permit those funds there will be a public outcry.
As ever, we all expected the over zealous hugs, TW’s eyes keeping an eye on the camera angles, the Claw clasping Harold and anyone else that didn’t flinch, but this time she didn’t even bother to hide the fact that she was posing for the cameras.
Then we have the odd comment from Harold, saying that the 5-year-old child known as Archie asked about landmines, and the Diana card was suddenly thrown into the mix. Did he really have a conversation with a child about landmines, and if so was it appropriate? Most 5 year olds are still learning to talk, read and write rather than to hold conversations on weapons. Harold may witter on about inappropriate content on social media and that he is afraid for his ‘children’, but I think it’s far scarier that a father thinks it’s acceptable to discuss weapons used in war with a young child.
Yesterday, the Heritage Foundation’s case against the DHS has resulted in the DHS agreeing to releases redacted parts of the requested visa application. I doubt that much will be revealed that isn’t already in the public domain, but it would clarify when Harold submitted the application, but may not reveal what visa he was applying for either.
The main news is that TW is rebranding herself again with another incarnation of The Tig, her old lifestyle blog where she promoted a faux lifestyle based on promoting places and goods for free. She had tried to use the ‘SussexRoyal’ brand, but Buckingham Palace shut that down and she was not happy about that, then came Archewell, a name that neither of the duo knew how to pronounce.
Last year (2024) there was a huge PR push with the ‘Scam Jam’ debacle where various personalities on social media were sent jars of TW’s homemade jam in a basket of fruit, often with the handwritten labels peeling off. All were instructed to tag ‘American Riviera Orchard’ the name of her new brand owned by Mama Knows Best LLC. However, it seems that mama didn’t know best as TW publicly declared that ‘American Riviera’ limited her scope for sales and she was rebranding the business that never started.
After switching the Shopify shop website to the ‘asever’ one (on 17-18 February 2025), the dormant American Riviera Orchard social media account turned into ‘aseverofficial’, but that wasn’t the end of it, there was a logo to go with it too. There is always a but with TW, and the logo was more or less identical to the coat of arms used by the ancient town of Porreres in Mallorca, Spain. The mayor said she would seek legal advice to challenge the use as it is disrespectful, but after consultations said that the small town did not have the finances to take on the English Crown.
That was not the end of matters, as a company called As Ever that sells clothing exists and has done for a decade, but had not trademarked their brand. They issued a statement asking people to not get confused with TW’s as ever, and confirmed they are not affiliated with her company called As Ever Enterprises LLC (set up in September 2024). The fact that they needed to issue a statement to state they are not affiliated means that there was a likelihood of confusion.
Since then, everyone seems to have an opinion about who should have the As Ever trademark. You have some who say (generally the cult) that because they sell clothing there is no confusion, but the key word here is ‘likelihood’ and whether people could get confused with the brands. If people who don’t like TW think that As Ever is affiliated with her then they may not want to buy from them.
Over the past few days, As Ever has seen much support from people and have sold out of their clothes so far, but the trademark issue goes beyond sales and is about protecting the name and reputation of a brand. Technically, a commonly used phrase cannot be trademarked either as it would prevent other people using it generically, and ‘as ever’, is used by many people across the world. Literally, it means the same as 'always', and TW would not want to use that and get confused with a sanitary towel.
The As Ever clothing company is seeking legal advice, but the main issue is that they did not register a trademark for their company. That doesn't mean they cannot protect their brand although it may limit what they can do in terms of infringement. They cannot sue (as only registered trademarks can do this) but can try and stop TW using the brand name'As Ever' under common law, but they should still consider filing for a New York state trademark which would help their case. The company still has options to protect their brand and company.
As Ever can apply for a trademark in New York state, as in the US you can apply for state trademarks which are easier to obtain and much quicker to process (in theory). If the company also operates in New Jersey, they could apply for a state trademark there too.
The company was established back in 2015, and purchased their internet domain in 2016, and their Instagram account in 2014. Therefore, because they have been trading for nearly a decade the application should be straightforward as often companies must prove they are trading, will trade, and that the trademark will be used, and that they need to protect it to prevent any confusion with other brands. They can prove all of that with sales, their merchandise being sold in stores in New York, and that they have active social media accounts too that go back to 2015.
A New York trademark (https://dos.ny.gov/application-register-trademark) will make a difference as it will come up in a USPTO search which has a backlog. Thus, it will then throw up a potential 'likelihood of confusion' issue when TW's application is examined. That is why TW has submitted a separate application (that was signed) with one class to try and speed up the process.
As Ever is a New York based company and should have no problem with the New York trademark or a New Jersey one either, and can prove they sell from there.
They can also apply for a trademark with USPTO which may cost more money, the upside is that their application could be processed more quickly if they have a New York state trademark, and also because they only have one class of goods, plus they are already trading and are established. Therefore, As Ever (NYC) if they filed an application, their application may proceed more quickly than TW's application due to the fact it is trading.
The main criteria of trademarks being examined is whether they will be used actively, and in TW's case, the brand has not been active and is not trading. That is why As Ever (NYC) will have the upper hand as they have been trading steadily for nearly a decade and look set to continue.
Historically, some trademarks have been refused due to state trademarks that have been in existence for a long time. The simpler the application, the quicker it will be processed, so in the case of As Ever (NYC) there would be little to examine because TW's companies are not actively trading and a holding page and a social media account doesn't count, plus the company was only set up in September 2024.
It is not always a case of who filed first who gets the trademark, but who has used the mark actively first that is usually successful. In this case, As Ever (NYC) has been actively trading since 2015 while TW has not got anything to sell.
USPTO also looks at other factors such as a physical address where the company can be contacted, and a phone number where customers can call with queries. These elements matter to prevent people sitting on trademarks and also fraudulent companies especially when they are selling physical good to consumers. To date, TW’s company doesn’t have a physical address or phone number let alone any products to sell.
Hopefully, As Ever (NYC) will find a lawyer who can represent them and file the applications to ensure there are no delays. These days hashtags and usernames are now commonly used to denote a brand, and As Ever have been using the #asever for a number of years.
How does one measure a likelihood of confusion? It goes beyond whether similar goods or services are offered, and that is what the examiner will look at and that includes internet searches and what the reasonable person on the street will think and see.
Having read many of the comments on the trademark issue and that people consider TW to be ‘bullying’ a small company by using their brand name knowing they have limited finances and that they didn’t register a trademark, is TW’s latest ‘Tig’ incarnation doomed before it begins? Most people including the media are backing the As Ever company based in New York not because they dislike TW, but because they consider what she is doing is unethical, but isn’t that her, as ever?
