Katy Perry’s Trademark Case Defeated by Designer Sharing Her Name
Katy Perry, the singer, lost a trademark case to an Australian designer with a similarly spelled birth name. Katie Perry, now known as Katie Taylor, allegedly sued the pop star because her products violated her trademark, as reported by the BBC.
According to the news aggregator, a judge ruled that merchandise sold during Katy’s 2014 tour of Australia infringed on Katie’s trademark.
By advertising the singer’s products through social media posts, federal judge Brigitte Markovic concluded that Kitty Purry partially infringed the trademark of Katie Taylor’s firm, which sells largely garments online, according to court documents released on Thursday.
The amount of damages will be determined at a later time.
Markovic said, “This is a tale of two women, two teenage dreams, and one name.”
According to Reuters, a judge rejected a trademark cancellation request by pop diva Katie Perry.
Formerly known as Katie Perry, Taylor has dubbed the verdict a “David and Goliath” victory for independent businesses.
In a blog post, she said that she had “fought not only for myself but for small businesses in this country, many of which were started by women,” who often face off against foreign entities with more financial muscle.
Since 2008, when Taylor registered the “Katie Perry” brand in Australia, the pop sensation and the Australian fashion designer have been at odds over the nearly identical names.
According to Taylor, Katy Perry had originally attempted to prevent the registration and had even hired attorneys to try to compel the designer to stop using the mark permanently, but she ultimately decided against taking any legal action.