Katy Perry loses trademark fight with Australian fashion designer

An Australian court has ruled that pop superstar Katy Perry infringed the trademark of a Sydney-based fashion designer, Katie Taylor, who has been selling her products locally under the "Katie Perry" label

Katie Taylor, whose birth name is Katie Perry, alleged in her 2019 lawsuit that the singer ignored the trademark and sold Katy Perry clothing to Australian customers in 2014 and 2018 during her concert tours in the country through retailers and websites.

According to Federal court judge Brigitte Markovic's ruling, Katy Perry's company Kitty Purry partially infringed the trademark of Katie Taylor's business, which sells mostly clothes online, by promoting the singer's products through posts on social media.

Damages are due to decided at a later date.

The judge dismissed a bid by the popstar seeking to cancel the Katie Perry trademark.

Taylor called the verdict a "David and Goliath" win for small businesses.

The tussle between the popstar and the Australian fashion designer over the homophonous name began in 2008 when Taylor registered the "Katie Perry" brand in Australia.

Katy Perry initially tried to block the registration and later engaged lawyers to try to force the designer to cease and forever desist from using the mark but later abandoned the move, Taylor said.