Apollonia Sues Prince Estate As Trademark Dispute Boils Over

Patricia Apollonia Kotero, whose Prince estate trademark dispute has kicked into high gear. Photo Credit: Glenn Francis

Purple Rain co-star Apollonia is suing the Prince estate for allegedly attempting to wrest control of the trademarks behind her professional name.

Apollonia (birth name Patricia Kotero) just recently submitted that straightforward suit to a California federal court, naming as the lone defendant Paisley Park Enterprises. However, the broader trademark showdown has been unfolding for some time now.

October 2016 saw the Santa Monica-born plaintiff file an entertainment-services trademark application for Apollonia 6, the girl group, including the namesake singer, established by Prince in 1983. (The filing party also hosts a podcast called Apollonia Studio 6.)

And 2018 delivered a similar application, this time concerning Apollonia proper, before the actress moved forward with two additional applications (one for Apollonia Studio 6 itself) yet.

To summarize the other trademark-application action: 2018 is said to have seen the Prince estate pursue a music-focused Apollonia 6 mark, which was refused due to the likelihood of confusion with Kotero’s relevant marks.

Paisley Park Enterprises then fired off a pair of trademark-cancellation actions (which are still pending), the complaint shows, on top of spearheading a June 2025 intent-to-use trademark application for Apollonia clothing and entertainment services.

Should the Prince estate score trademark-cancellation wins, it’s “highly likely” that a cease-and-desist and then a straight infringement action would follow, according to Apollonia, who is therefore seeking “a judicial declaration that she is entitled to her name and marks.”

As for the opposite side’s arguments, Apollonia touched on the Prince estate’s purported belief that she’d signed away the trademarks in two 1980s contracts with companies owned by Prince.

“Even assuming arguendo that Plaintiff signed any agreement decades ago,” the 66-year-old and her legal team wrote, “the statute of limitations for breach of contract expired long ago, and neither Prince nor anyone on his behalf ever requested Apollonia cease using her name or demanded she stop using her name on a personal or professional level.”

All told, then, the “Sex Shooter” vocalist is asking the court to confirm that she isn’t infringing “any valid, protectable trademark rights,” to declare the aforesaid 1980s contracts “null and void,” and to order the Prince estate to cease challenging the trademarks.

Meanwhile, a sought injunction would bar the defendant from interfering with the use of the Apollonia trademarks, and a separate order would prohibit the estate “from filing any future trademark applications” pertaining to Apollonia.