Young Girl Named Khaleesi Gets Passport Denied Due to GOT Trademark

A six-year-old girl in UK got her passport application rejected due to her unique Game of Thrones inspired name. The mother of the young girl revealed that her daughter’s passport was rejected because she was named Khaleesi.

Lucy, 39, from Swindon in Wiltshire, said the Passport Office initially refused the application for Khaleesi. Lucy had planned and saved up for a dream trip with her daughter to Disneyland in Paris and hence applied for the passport. Officials claimed that they could not issue a passport unless Warner Brothers granted approval since it owned the name's trademark. However, the authorities have later apologized for the error.

"I was absolutely devastated, we were so looking forward to our first holiday together," Lucy said. "But then I had a letter come through from the Passport Office, saying her name is trademarked by Warner Brothers. It was the first I've heard of such a thing - I was astonished", she further added.

Despite getting legal guidance and giving evidence that the trademark did not include individual’s names, the Passport Office first requested a letter from Warner Brothers. However, as Lucy posted her experience on social media, the matter gained attention, causing the Passport Office to conduct an investigation. They eventually apologised, admitting that their employees had received wrong guidance. "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," she said.

Lucy even opened up on her first reaction when she received the later, she said, she was shocked, she said, “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." 

Meanwhile she is hoping that they can make it to Disneyland Paris soon and is waiting to book the holiday until all the passports have arrived. "I am hoping the passport will be issued soon and was promised that they would call back in a few days to see if it had progressed." she added. Lucy is also hoping her story might help others. "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," she said.

Khaleesi is one of the titles given to Daenerys Targaryen, played by Emilia Clarke in the popular fantasy series Game of Thrones. Khaleesi mean ‘Queen’ in the Dotharaki language, created for the show.