Who owns the name Appolonia? It depends on who you ask.
The Star Tribune's Jon Bream reports that Patricia Kotera, who we've known as Appolonia since her co-starring role with Prince in 1984's "Purple Rain," says it's hers.
Kotera says she trademarked the name in 2016 and again in 2018.
But earlier this year, the Prince estate asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to render them worthless, since they say Kotera signed over those rights in contracts signed in the early 1980's.
Kotera has gone by the name Appolonia for decades in both her acting and musical pursuits, long after leaving the Prince organization in 1985.
The lawsuit comes just months ahead of the opening of the stage musical "Purple Rain," set to open in Minneapolis this October.
The lawsuit does not mention the musical specifically, but of course the musical includes a character named "Appolonia" which is the same as the 1984 film. Actress Rachel Webb has been cast to play Appolonia in the stage show.