Meghan Markle wants full exclusivity on a 500-year-old word for her Spotify podcast

Her podcast will be named Archetypes, where she will be interviewing experts and historians in her episodes. The podcast will take a look into labels and stereotypes that try to hold back women. Amidst this, Meghan has made a rather peculiar request for her podcast.

Pending Trademark

The Duchess of Sussex has reportedly tried to trademark a historic word that has been used in the English Language since around the 1540s. The title of her show – Archetypes, is the word she wants exclusivity on. According to The Sun, Harry and Meghan’s audio company Archewell Audio has filed an application in the United States Patent and Trademark Office last month to ensure that they have a dedicated right to the title of their podcast.

Oxford describes the word Archetype as ‘the most typical example of a particular kind of person or thing.’ If the trademark is granted to the Sussexes, it would mean that Archewell Audio would own its rights, rather than Spotify.

Additionally, Meghan could also face consequences and legal challenges from other companies that use the word in their names such as cleaning products and skincare business Archetypes – who already have a trademark.

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Archetypes of archetypes

In late 2020, Spotify gave the Sussexes a hefty amount to deliver exclusive content for the streaming giant. At the start, Harry and Meghan did a short Christmas podcast, a ‘holiday special’ in 2020. However, early in 2022, Spotify had to take things into its own hands as the couple failed to deliver any content for almost a year. It is after this that Meghan will be releasing her own podcast which will be as bold as the Duchess herself. In a trailer last month, Meghan 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?

Describing the podcast, Meghan added:

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.