Jolie Drops Protest to "Shiloh" Trademark

Trademark applicant Symine Salimpour's got into a legal dispute with perhaps the most famous mother on the planet. Fortunately for Salimpour, the dispute concluded almost as quickly and quietly as it began.

Salimpour, a fragrance designer for her own fashion company, claims that she began development of a fragrance two years ago. Salimpour selected the brand name "SHILOH" for the fragrance. Salimpour filed a trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on June 19, 2006 – a date that was a mere three weeks after Angelina Jolie-Pitt gave birth to her daughter, Shiloh. After learning of the trademark application, Jolie-Pitt filed an opposition in the USPTO on January 31, 2007 and alleged that Salimpour should not be entitled to trademark the name "Shiloh".

Jolie-Pitt's opposition lacked merit because, although Shiloh is not a surname, marks that are primarily surnames are treated the same as descriptive marks under U.S. trademark law. In addition, Salimpour is not using the mark in connection with a surname. Jolie-Pitt's opposition did not last--she dropped the challenge on June 15, 2007. A relieved Salimpour is now arranging for the first shipment of Shiloh, the perfume, not the toddler, to the United States.