She’s up in arms.
Mayor Xisca Mora is heartbroken that her small town of Porreres, Spain, cannot afford to sue Meghan Markle over the newly unveiled “As Ever” logo — which she claims is “nearly identical” to the Mallorcan village’s centuries-old coat of arms.
The politician has urged Markle to change the logo of her newly rebranded lifestyle company after claiming that the design is a replica of the town’s emblem, which dates back to 1370.
“To sue for plagiarism is complicated and costly, and a small town council like ours is not in a position to fight against the English crown,” Mora told local publication El País in an article published Tuesday.
The Porreres coat of arms notably features a palm tree between two swallows inside of a crest, while Markle’s logo depicts a palm tree sandwiched between two hummingbirds.
Mora explained that Markle should reconsider her logo because the hamlet’s coat of arms is “very special to [their] culture.”
“[It] has been linked to our town since it was founded hundreds of years ago,” Mora said in a separate interview with the Daily Mail. ”We are still a bit shocked. We thought it was fake news at first — we didn’t know what was happening.”
Mora pointed out the “undeniable” similarities, claiming that the only thing setting them apart are the differing bird species and color choices.
“But they are nearly identical,” she said.
The mayor also claimed that her town’s residents are “upset” because Markle is using their coat of arms to “sell products like jam around the world.”
“The truth is that although this has given our once-unknown town some publicity in just a few hours, we don’t like our coat of arms being used, we want them to pull the logo,” she said.
Mora implied that Markle would be a welcome visitor if she were to re-design her logo and bring attention to Porreres‘ thriving local jam trade.
“If she wants, we can invite her to the patron saint’s fiestas and let her be the hostess,” she said.
Markle just recently announced the rebrand of her lifestyle company, which was previously called American Riviera Orchard, due to several trademark issues.
“Last year, I had thought, ‘You know what? 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,” Markle explained in an Instagram video earlier this week.
Markle, who made the switch just two weeks before her Netflix cooking show will premiere, was also slammed by a clothing brand called As Ever, which was founded in 2015.
The clothing company’s owner, Mark Kolski, admitted that he does not have a trademark on the name but that he doesn’t plan on rebranding.
“I’m a very small business, it’s a family-run operation. I’m essentially a one-man band,” he told the Sun.
“This new venture has the power and money of Netflix behind it. Even if I wanted to do something I don’t think I have the behemoth of lawyers and money that are behind this.”
A source assured Page Six this week that Markle’s As Ever company is a lifestyle brand and will not be selling clothing.
The former “Suits” actress, 43, revealed that she would be launching her lifestyle company last March and soft-launched her first product — rustic jars of jams — the following month.
A trademark application obtained by Page Six Style at the time revealed the business would be selling a range of home goods including edible treats like jellies, jams and spreads, tableware staples like cutlery, table linens and drinkware, as well as cookbooks.
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