A British soldier, who prides himself as a big Star Wars fan, was informed that he might have to forgo his family’s vacation to the Dominican Republic after his seven-year-old son, Loki Skywalker Mowbray, was denied a passport due to copyright concerns.
The Home Office, in charge of the country’s immigration and security, told Christian Mowbray, currently serving at the Corps of Royal Engineers at the Rock Barracks near Suffolk, that he will either have to get a permission from Disney or might have to consider changing his son’s name, New York Post reported.
The child was born on May 4, which is informally known as “Star Wars Day” to enthusiasts. Hence, Christian and his wife, Becky, named him after Skywalker — the family name of characters in the Star Wars franchise.
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It was all going well until the soldier and his family decided to go on a vacation to the Dominican Republic in October this year.
According to reports, this was supposed to be the family’s first trip since 2014 due to Christian and his wife’s demanding work schedule. Becky is a former soldier and has earlier struggled with complex PTSD.
As this was the five-member family’s first international trip since the birth of Loki Skywalker Mowbray, they required new passports.
However, the Home Office denied a passport to the youngster, stating it could not print “Skywalker” on it due to Disney copyright on the name.
Christian said the family was not aware of this being a potential issue. “We understand that Loki’s middle name is copyrighted, but we have no intention of using it for personal gain,” he said. He asserted that though he understands the Home Office’s position and reasoning, he saw “the need to recognise that modern names are evolving”.
“I can understand if an adult changes their name for a ‘stunt,’ but this is not the case for a child from birth,” the New York Post reported quoted him as saying.
Detailing the refusal, the Home Office, in an email, told the family that the child’s name contained a name “which relates to a trademark or copyright,” the Daily Mail reported.
Subsequently, with the news going viral, the family was later informed that the Home Office would issue a passport to the child. The UK department said that the application of the soldier’s family was “being processed” and apologised for the delay.
Later, it was confirmed that the application had been approved. Besides Loki, the couple also have two other children, named Kaycie and Willow.