UK: 6 YO Denied Passport Over 'Game of Thrones' Inspired Name. Here's Why

What's in a name? Dear Shakespeare, in this digitally engulfed and content-driven world, names may be copyrighted. A family at the UK airport was all set to fly to Disneyland for their 'dream' vacation. But their trip was obstructed due to the denial of a passport for their 6-year-old daughter, Khaleesi. 

Who is Khaleesi?

Khaleesi is a fictional character seen on the superhit series Game of Thrones. It is a Dothraki title given to Queen Daenerys I Targaryen. 'Khaleesi' typically refers to the wife of Khal. 

Another Khaleesi is a 6-year-old girl from the UK. This name mix-up has called the internet blows. 

The name is trademarked: Airport Officials 

Lucy, the mother of the 6-year-old was told that they could not process her request as the name was owned by Warner Brothers. Warner Brothers is an American film production and distribution company and are producer of the series Game of Thrones. 

"I was absolutely devastated, we were so looking forward to our first holiday together," says Lucy. She and her family had planned their dream vacation to Disneyland Paris. 

Are Officials authorised to do this?

As a rule, passports cannot have names that are liable for causing offence to the public. Such as sexually explicit names, names associated with gangs/extremist organisations or ones that may promote racial hatred, religious hostility or criminal behaviour. Or names that breach trademark or copyright, or the ones the system rejects for technical reasons. 

However, Lucy's 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.

Apology received, passport request processed

With the air cleared on the trademark issue, Lucy received a call from the passport office with the authorities apologising for their actions. They also mention that these stringent actions were meant only for flyers 'changing their names.' The call ended with the verbal assurance that her daughter's passport request was finally being processed. 

Lucy feels that the issue would not have been resolved if she hadn't posted about it on social media. The authorities at the airport were still fixated on only one solution, "Get a letter from Warner Bros Studios saying they are okay with the name."

Just like hers, many issues go unnoticed due to the negligence of officials or silly theories created by them. We must rely on the power of social media in such situations. Lucy too tried to bring together a group of socially aware and problem-solving individuals together through this action in the digital realm.

"I think there might be other people in this situation, that they may have had passports declined recently because of something like this. Hopefully, they now know this can be resolved," she quotes.