A mother found herself navigating legal hurdles when attempting to secure a passport for her daughter.
Lucy, hailing from Southwest England, had been in the process of applying for a passport for her daughter in preparation for a family trip to Disneyland.
This trip was set to be the family’s first holiday together, but they encountered issues when the passport office informed them that they could not issue the passport.
Upon applying, Lucy was told by the office that her daughter’s name was the reason they could not process the request.
The complication arose because Lucy’s daughter was named after a prominent character from HBO’s popular series Game of Thrones.
This led Lucy to seek legal advice to ensure her daughter Khaleesi could receive a passport.
In an interview with the BBC, Lucy discussed how the incident impacted her family.
She expressed: “I was absolutely devastated, we were so looking forward to our first holiday together.”
The initial passport application was rejected on the grounds that the name ‘Khaleesi’ was trademarked by Warner Brothers.
Lucy remarked: “It was the first I’ve heard of such a thing – I was astonished.”
Fortunately, Lucy managed to resolve the issue with the help of a solicitor.
After carefully examining the legal aspects of the case, they discovered that while a trademark existed, it was only applicable to goods and services, not individuals’ names.
Lucy forwarded this information to the passport office, which agreed but still required her to contact Warner Brothers to confirm her daughter’s use of the name.
She explained: “I didn’t understand and felt frustrated. If she could get a birth certificate, would something not have been flagged up then?
“I never thought you could trademark a name.”
Ultimately, Lucy received confirmation from the passport office that they could process the passport and apologized for the mix-up.
She noted: “If I hadn’t posted this on social media, nothing would have been done.
“I would have been stuck, not knowing what to do. People contacted me about similar experiences.”
Lucy concluded: “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.”
A spokesperson for the UK Home Office informed the BBC: “We can confirm the application is being processed and apologise to the family for the delay.”