The American singer Katy Perry won a lawsuit against an Australian designer of the same name for the right to use her trademark. The court canceled the designer's trademark registration, recognizing the singer's priority.
Pop star Katy Perry has won a lawsuit against the Australian fashion designer of the same name over a trademark. This is reported by The Guardian and BBC, UNN reports.
Details
Sydney designer Katie Jane Taylor, who has been selling clothes under her birth name, Katy Perry, in October 2019 , sued the singer because the singer was selling her own merchandise.
It is worth noting that the designer's name is spelled Katie Perry in English, and the singer's name is Katy Perry.
Perry, whose real name is Katherine Hudson, on Friday successfully appealed a 2023 federal court finding that her band Kitty Purry infringed on trademark rights during her 2014 Australian tour.
The three judges of the appellate court unanimously reversed the initial findings and decided to cancel the registration of the Taylor trademark.
The judges stated that Perry had used her name as a trademark five years before Taylor started her business, adding that by that time Perry had gained an international reputation in the entertainment industry.
The designer compared her trial with Perry to David and Goliath. After Friday's ruling, she told the Sydney Morning Herald that she was “devastated” by the outcome of the case.
Both women put blood, sweat, and tears into developing their businesses. As one of them grew in fame internationally, the other learned of her namesake's existence and applied for a trademark registration,
– the judges noted.