Apollonia Pushes Back Against Prince’s Estate In Los Angeles Federal Court Over Who Owns Her Name

Here’s the legal posture: The estate filed an “intent-to-use” federal trademark application for APOLLONIA on June 20, 2025, covering clothing and entertainment services. Around the same time, it pressed cancellation actions at the TTAB targeting Kotero’s existing registrations, arguing she isn’t the rightful owner and that the name doesn’t function as a trademark. Kotero’s complaint counters with classic equitable defenses—waiver, acquiescence, laches—saying Prince himself encouraged her professional use of the name and that the estate waited decades to object. The federal suit asks a judge to sort out priority, ownership, and the parties’ respective rights while TTAB proceedings continue. TTABVUE

On the facts, Kotero’s narrative is straightforward: she’s been “Apollonia” since Purple Rain made the name famous in 1984, and she’s used it consistently for performances, branding, and a podcast. That long, public, and source-identifying use is the backbone of her claim to senior common-law rights and the registrations that flowed from it. In her words, “There is only one Apollonia.”