Meghan Markle has been barred from selling any clothing under her new ‘As Ever’ brand because of the name’s similarity to a cut-price Chinese clothing company.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal documents filed at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in October 2022 by Meghan’s high-powered lawyers applied for permission to sell aprons and other items of clothing – along with a long list of products including jams and dog biscuits – under the ‘As Ever’ name.

But USPTO issued a 145-page ‘partial rejection’ of Meghan’s trademark application in July 2023 saying she could not sell clothing because her company’s name was too similar to Chinese ‘fast fashion’ brand ASEVER.

ASEVER, based in Shenzhen, China is a clothing company which supplies popular high street stores like H&M.

In their response, USPTO said: ‘The marks are identical in sound and virtually identical in appearance and are thus confusingly similar for the purposes of determining likelihood of confusion.’

The trademark office cited ‘clothing category Class 25’ and sent the trademark application back to the Duchess of Sussex’s legal team.

The paperwork stated: ‘Registration of the applied-for mark is refused because of a likelihood of confusion.’

Six months later, in January 2024, Meghan’s lawyers filed a revised application which removed any mention of clothing – and her trademark application for ‘As Ever’ was approved.

Meghan Markle has been barred from selling any clothing under her new ‘As Ever’ brand because of the name’s similarity to a cut-price Chinese clothing company

USPTO issued a 145-page ‘partial rejection’ of Meghan’s trademark application in July 2023 saying she could not sell clothing because her company’s name was too similar to Chinese ‘fast fashion’ brand ASEVER

Meghan, hand in hand with her daughter Lilibet, in the cover photo for her new brand’s website

A Los Angeles trademark lawyer said last night: ‘If she sells clothing under the As Ever brand she risks being sued.’

Meghan, whose fashion choices regularly sell-out, will now have to choose another brand name if she wants to market her own clothing line.

The snafu is just the latest setback in the former Suits star’s long-awaited lifestyle brand launch.

Her ‘As Ever’ products will be sold in conjunction with streaming giant Netflix which will launch her new lifestyle show ‘With Love, Meghan’ on March 4.

The Mail on Sunday revealed Meghan’s products will be sold at Netflix stand-alone stores in Dallas and Philadelphia as well as online through both Netflix’s shopping site and her own website.

Her brand’s original name – American Riviera Orchard – was rejected by USPTO because you are not allowed to trademark a geographical area.

Food giant Harry & David also objected because the name was ‘too similar’ to their Royal Riviera line of pears.

In one of her Instagram posts Meghan explained that American Riviera is the name given to Santa Barbara, California, the coastal town next to the ‘millionaire’s enclave’ of Montecito where she and Prince Harry own a $14.5 million home.

Her brand’s original name – American Riviera Orchard – was rejected by USPTO because you are not allowed to trademark a geographical area

Her new branding features a palm tree, alongside two hummingbirds – likely to represent Archie and Lilibet

Her brand’s original name – American Riviera Orchard – was rejected by USPTO because you are not allowed to trademark a geographical area.

Neighbours include Oprah Winfrey, Kevin Costner and Katy Perry.

Meghan said: ‘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.’

When she unveiled ‘As Ever’ earlier this week – she already has more than two million followers on Instagram – the name immediately sparked controversy.

Mark Kolski, who has owned a vintage clothing company called ‘As Ever’ in New York since 2017, said: ‘I want to say thank you to all the old friends who know and love our small family brand As Ever and also say hi to all those that have just become aware we exist. We are grateful for all the customers coast-to-coast and worldwide that have supported our venture.’

Mr Kolski confirmed he had never applied to trademark the ‘As Ever’ name saying: ‘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.’

The Spanish village of Porreres in Mallorca is threatening legal action against the duchess with civic bosses claiming Meghan copied the town’s traditional coat of arms, which dates back to 1370.

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

Her ‘As Ever’ products will be sold in conjunction with the streaming giant

The ‘As Ever’ logo shows a palm tree with two hummingbirds on either side of it.

Prince Harry famously said he saw a hummingbird after the death of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth.

The town’s coat of arms is strikingly similar and shows two birds on either side of a palm.

ASEVER in China failed to respond to multiple requests for comment.