Kotero Sues Prince Estate in Federal Court Over Apollonia Name

A long-running dispute over the rights to the stage name Apollonia has moved from the fringes of trademark filings to a federal court, as Patricia Apollonia Kotero, the actress who played Apollonia in Purple Rain, claims the estate of Prince is attempting to seize ownership of her professional name. Kotero filed a 14-page complaint in a Los Angeles federal court, seeking to cancel pending applications tied to the Apollonia name and to obtain an injunction preventing the estate from interfering with her use of the name. The case centers on decades of use by Kotero, who has performed publicly as Apollonia since the mid-1980s, and on the estate’s push to control related marks tied to the name and its associated acts.

Kotero’s claim traces a multi-year trademark history. She began pursuing registrations related to Apollonia and the group Apollonia 6 in 2016 and 2018, asserting that the goodwill built around the Apollonia name belongs to her. Her team contends that Prince himself encouraged and consented to her use of the name in her professional endeavors, including performances and releases that have kept Apollonia as a recognizable brand for more than four decades. The complaint...