International popstar Katy Perry has had a court win in her long-running trademark battle with an Australian fashion designer over her Katie Perry trademark loungewear.
Sydney designer Katie Jane Taylor, who sells clothes under her birth name Katie Perry , sued the singer in October 2019 because the performer was selling her own merchandise.
Perry, whose real name is Katheryn Hudson, on Friday successfully appealed the 2023 federal court findings that her firm, Kitty Purry, had engaged in trademark infringement during the 2014 Australian tour.
Three appeal judges unanimously overturned the original findings and ordered that Taylor’s trademark be deregistered.
“Whilst some die-hard fans of [the I Kissed A Girl singer and co-writer] may recognise the incorrect spelling, the ordinary consumer with an imperfect recollection … would be likely to be confused as to the source of the item and wonder whether it was associated with [the performer],” they wrote.
The judges described the case as an “unfortunate one” in which two enterprising women in different countries had adopted their names as a trademark.
“Both women put blood, sweat and tears into developing their businesses,” they wrote.
“As the fame of one grew internationally, the other became aware of her namesake and filed a trademark application.”
Perry had used her name as a trademark in good faith during the 2014 Prism tour and had been doing so five years before Taylor launched her own business, the judges noted.
They noted in 2009 Perry had sent a “cease and desist” letter to the Sydney-based fashion designer, before suggesting they come to a “coexistence agreement”.
“Ms Taylor rejected that offer of a coexistence agreement, which, as circumstances turned out, would have been an excellent outcome for both parties,” the judgment said.
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“[Having] rejected the offer, Ms Taylor then chose to commence infringement proceedings … In that sense, Ms Taylor has brought this result on herself. Unfortunately, it is no longer possible to return to the time of peaceful coexistence.”
The pop singer’s name was also used honestly on clothing and other merchandise sold in Australia, the court found.
The Katie Perry trademark had been applied for when Taylor already knew of the singer’s reputation, the judges found.
In a statement, Taylor said she was devastated and heartbroken by the decision.
“This case proves a trademark isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on,” she said.
“My fashion label has been a dream of mine since I was 11 years old and now that dream that I have worked so hard for, since 2006, has been taken away.”
She said she would take time with her legal team to consider the judgment and what next steps were available.
Perry declined to comment when contacted through her lawyers.
She will tour Australia for the first time in six years in June after making a brief visit to the country in September to perform at the AFL grand final.
With Australian Associated Press
