Six-year-old denied passport over trademarked name
A mother from the UK has been left "absolutely devastated" after her six-year-old daughter's passport application was denied because she is named after a famous character in the fantasy series Game of Thrones.
Lucy, a 39-year-old mum from South West England, told the BBC that things went downhill when she started planning their “dream” trip to Disneyland Paris as a family and needed to get her daughter a passport.
She said that the initial application to get her daughter, Khaleesi, 6, was unable to be processed, with officials telling her she needed approval from Warner Brothers because they own the name’s trademark.
“I was absolutely devastated, we were so looking forward to our first holiday together,” Lucy said.
“I had a letter come through from the Passport Office, saying her name is trademarked by Warner Brothers,” she said.
“It was the first I’ve heard of such a thing — I was astonished.”
After receiving legal advice, the mum learned her daughter was legally allowed to use that name, and forwarded that information along to the Passport Office.
“I didn’t understand and felt frustrated. If she could get a birth certificate, would something not have been flagged up then?” she said.
“I never thought you could trademark a name,” she added.
The Passport Office reportedly later called Lucy to apologise for the error and said they would continue with the process of little Khaleesi's passport.
Lucy said she believes the problem was only solved because she complained on social media.
“If I hadn’t posted this on social media, nothing would have been done. I would have been stuck, not knowing what to do,” she said, adding that others had reached out saying they’d experienced something similar.
Lucy now said she is waiting until her daughter’s passport arrives before booking a new trip to Disneyland Paris.
“I am hoping the passport will be issued soon and was promised that they would call back in a few days to see if it had progressed,” she told the BBC.
She also hopes her story may help others stuck in a similar situation, saying, “I think there might be other people in this situation, that they may have had their passports declined recently because of something like this. Hopefully, they now know it can be resolved."
Image credits: HBO / BBC / Family Handout