Meghan, Duchess of Sussex tries to trademark ‘archetypes’ for her new Spotify podcast
The Duchess of Sussex has tried to trademark the 476-year-old word “archetypes”, after choosing it as the name for a Spotify podcast.
The long-awaited series was announced by the Sussexes last month, more than a year after the couple partnered with the streaming service in a reputed £18 million, multi-year deal.
Described by her production company as a “groundbreaking new podcast”, the Duchess will investigate “the labels that try to hold women back” during the Archetypes podcast, by interviewing historians and experts on stereotypes.
The Duchess made an application to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) two days after the announcement, to cover the use of “archetypes” for a range of goods and services.
The word’s origins date back to ancient Greek, most notably as a concept central to Plato’s theory of forms. Its first known use in European texts was in 1545.
Now, however, the Duchess hopes to stop it being used by others as a brand “in the fields of cultural treatment of women and stereotypes facing women”, across various entertainment mediums.
The application - submitted by the couple’s production company, Archewell Audio - contains a list of 622 words, spelling out exactly what areas it hopes the trademark will protect.
It includes podcasts, television series and even “live stage performances”, as well as the distribution of the audio or video through “broadcast television, satellite, cable television, global computer networks, the internet, websites, wireless devices, mobile applications, set top boxes, webcasts and on-demand streaming media”.
If approved for publication, the trademark will appear in an official weekly gazette to begin a 30-day period in which any member of the public in the US can oppose it.
A US-based skincare company called Archetypes has previously registered the trademark to cover both its range of beauty products and its website.
USPTO says on its website that a trademark does not allow the owner to “prevent others from using it”, instead providing rights over “how that word or phrase is used with your specific goods or services”.
The Duchess said last month that her Spotify podcast will be released this summer, later than originally anticipated.
The first complete series from the Sussexes was promised for 2021. However, aside from a Christmas 2020 special, featuring the thoughts of friends and associates such as James Corden, Sir Elton John and Naomi Osaka, the couple have produced no shows.
The announcement last month came in the wake of a row over Spotify’s anti-vaccine content, as it faced calls to remove The Joe Rogan Experience, a podcast which gave a platform to vaccine sceptics. The star apologised, but remains on Spotify.
However, the Duke and Duchess insisted that they remained committed to working with Spotify, stating they were raising the issue of Covid misinformation to ensure changes were made.
A trailer for Archetypes released on March 24 featured various clips of women being spoken about in a demeaning fashion, before the Duchess explained the scope of her new project.
She said: “This is how we talk about women: the words that raise our girls and how the media reflects women back to us.
“But where do these stereotypes come from and how do they keep showing up and defining our lives?
“I’m Meghan and this is Archetypes, the podcast where we dissect, explore and subvert the labels that try to hold women back.
“I’ll have conversations with women who know all too well how these typecasts shape our narratives - and I’ll talk to historians to understand how we even got here in the first place.”
The series will be produced by Archewell Audio and Spotify's Gimlet Media.
