Pop star Katy Perry has lost another round in a long-running trademark battle with an Australian fashion designer who operates under the name Katie Perry.
Australia’s High Court ruled Wednesday that the designer’s clothing brand does not damage the singer’s reputation or create confusion among consumers, bringing the latest chapter of the legal dispute to a close.
The case centers on designer Katie Taylor, who launched her clothing label in 2007 under the name Katie Perry, using her birth name at the time. Taylor began selling clothing at local markets in 2008 and later expanded the brand through a website and social media.
Taylor said she was unaware of the American pop star when she created the label and only learned about Katy Perry after the singer’s hit song “I Kissed a Girl” gained popularity in mid-2008.
The dispute intensified when Katy Perry sold merchandise such as jackets, hoodies, and T-shirts during her 2014 Australian tour.
Taylor successfully sued the singer for trademark infringement in 2023, arguing that the merchandise violated her registered trademark in Australia.
However, an appeals court overturned that decision in 2024, finding that Perry had been using her name commercially years before Taylor’s business began.
The High Court’s latest ruling determined that the singer’s global fame in Australia actually reduces the likelihood of confusion between the pop star and the designer’s brand.
Judges concluded that consumers would not reasonably mistake the clothing label for merchandise linked to the singer.
Taylor described the years-long case as an exhausting legal fight but said the decision reinforces the importance of trademark protections for smaller businesses.
She characterized the case as a battle between a global celebrity and a small independent label.
The ruling effectively ends one of the most unusual celebrity trademark disputes in recent years, centered on two women with nearly identical names operating in completely different industries.
