Katy Perry has lost to Australian fashion designer Katie Perry in a long-running legal fight over name use that went all the way to the High Court.
Earlier today, the High Court released its majority decision that the Katie Perry trademark complied with trademark laws and was unlikely to be confused with or damage the global pop star’s reputation, ABC News reports.
Katy Perry’s legal team argued that she had toured and sold name-branded merchandise in Australia in 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2018 without pushback from Katie Perry.
But in 2019, the designer accused the pop star of infringing on her trademark due to the sales of Katy Perry-branded clothes, shoes and headwear.
Katie Perry was initially successful in her bid but the ruling in her favour was overturned on appeal, when judges ruled that Katy Perry had built her reputation in Australia before Katie Perry launched her fashion label. Katie Perry, faced with the prospect of losing her business, pursued the case to the High Court.
The designer told the court this week that she had not heard of the pop star when she filed her trademark in 2008, although she had heard of her by the time the trademark was registered in 2009, when her namesake had a hit with I Kissed a Girl.
Katie Perry’s lawyers also argued that she had used the name for a decade without any issue. The High Court sided with the designer, finding that use of the designer’s mark on clothing was unlikely to deceive or cause confusion, and awarded her costs.
