A six-year-old girl was recently denied a passport because she was named after a popular 'Game of Thrones' character. Her mother Lucy told BBC that the officials told her that the passport application for Khaleesi needed Warner Brothers’ approval since they own the name’s trademark, as per a report in BBC. Notably, Khaleesi was the title given to Emilia Clarke’s character Daenerys Targaryen in the show.
"I was absolutely devastated, we were so looking forward to our first holiday together," Lucy said. The family were planning their "dream" vacation to Disneyland Paris.
"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," the 39-year-old continued.
Her lawyers looked into it and found that, although 'Game of Thrones' is trademarked, it is for products and services, it is not for a person's name. "That information was sent to the Passport Office who said I would need a letter from Warner Brothers to confirm my daughter is able to use that name," she said.
Lucy expressed her frustration and questioned why was it not flagged earlier. "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," she added.
Further, the Passport Office called the woman and apologised for their mistake. They added that there was a misunderstanding. However, Lucy believes that this was only possible after she had posted on social media.
"He advised me that they should be able to process my daughter's passport now," she said.
Lucy continued, "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."
The mother-daughter duo are hoping that they can visit Disneyland Paris shortly. "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.
"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.
A spokesperson of the Home Office said: "We can confirm the application is being processed and apologise to the family for the delay."