A six-year-old girl from the United Kingdom was nearly unable to travel abroad with her parents, with officials stating that she might need to legally change her name. That’s the story out of the United Kingdom last week, after it was revealed that a young girl was unable to go on the trip of a lifetime to Disneyland after the nation’s Passport Office denied her the necessary documentation to fly. The problem? Her name is copyrighted…by Warner Brothers.
Lucy Holloway, the mother of Khaleesi Holloway, had to put plans on hold for their expensive vacation abroad after the Passport Office said that printing the name would break trademark rules. The name, it turns out, is trademarked by Warner Brothers – the production company that owns the Game of Thrones television show.
Officials said that to grant a passport, they would either need to change the name of their child – who is named after a character on the show – or seek permission from Warner Brothers themselves.
Since then, however, the Home Office – which controls Britain’s Passport Office – confirmed that they were mistaken, and that the application could go ahead without the family desperately trying to reach out to one of America’s biggest TV and movie production studios to ask for permission.
Let’s be honest – there’s no way they could have ever reached them, is there?
Speaking to the BBC, 39-year-old Lucy Holloway said that she was utterly “devastated” by the news and that she and her daughter were looking forward to taking their first vacation together.
When she was first told by Passport Office staff that they couldn’t print the document, she described her frustration and confusion.
“If she could get a birth certificate, would something not have been flagged up then?” she asked. And she was right, of course.
Holloway sought the advice of lawyers in her home country who quickly advised her that while Warners Brothers does own the trademark for Game of Thrones and names found within it, those trademarks only apply for products sold relating to the characters on the show. The name can, therefore, be used in other applications – including for names.
So if you were planning on calling your next child Yoda or Harry Potter, you’ll be well within your rights.
