The yearslong legal battle between the pop singer Katy Perry and the Australian fashion designer Katie Perry carries on.
The Australian High Court ruled Friday that it would hear the trademark case “Taylor vs. Killer Queen,” in which the Sydney-based designer claims that the 13-time Grammy nominee infringed on her brand. This reverses a November decision by the High Court that had ruled in favor of the American pop star.
The designer, whose birth name was Katie Jane Perry and whose legal name is Katie Jane Taylor, is the registered owner of the Australian trademark Katie Perry. She secured that in 2008 — a year after she started her company. The U.S.-based pop star, whose given name is Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, adopted the name Katy Perry for her professional musical career and commercial licensing merchandise opportunities in 2002.
Justice Brigitte Markovic, who is overseeing the case, has previously referred to the matter as, “This is a tale of two women, two teenage dreams and one name.”
The pair have been embroiled in a court case since 2009. Their dispute elevated to the Federal Court in 2019, when the designer claimed that the Californian “Woman’s World” crooner had sold branded Katy Perry clothing and merchandise at her concerts and online via her companies Killer Queen, Kitty Purry and Purrfect Ventures.
The designer declined an interview request Tuesday via email and noted that per her attorneys’ advice she is not speaking with journalists, since the matter is before the High Court. She said in a statement, “I confirm that the High Court has granted special leave to appeal the decision of the Full Federal Court from November. As this matter is now before the Court, I cannot comment any further at this time.”
The Australian creative also declined to comment about Perry’s recent 11-minute Blue Origin space flight with the all-women crew that included Jeff Bezos‘ fiance Lauren Sanchez and Gayle King. As an indicator of the disparity between the megastar and the designer, the “Roar” musician has 230 million Instagram followers, and the designer has 670.
An attorney for Katy Perry did not respond immediately to a request for comment Tuesday morning.
The case brings to the surface more than similarly named people including whether globally recognized third parties could confuse or deceive consumers, and that defending one’s “own name” applies to one’s legal name, and any pseudonym or stage name. The claim that clothing includes footwear, headgear, caps, hats and headbands has also been a matter of debate.
After the pop star sought registration for the “Katy Perry” trademark in Australia and proposed a co-existence agreement in 2009, the fashion designer declined.
The Katie Perry label is a Sydney-made sustainable line of women’s and men’s travel wear and loungewear. The mother of two describes her brand as “purpose-driven and the opposite of fast fashion,” and encourages people to repeat outfits made of natural fabrics.
Regardless of what happens in the High Court, Katy Perry’s upcoming “Lifetimes” tour will touch down in Australia for 15 concerts including three in the designer’s home city of Sydney on June 4, 9 and 10. In 2023, a federal court judge ruled that Perry had infringed on the designer’s trademark with merchandise that was sold in conjunction with her 2014 Australian tour. But that decision was later reversed, due to the American singer having established international recognition for her stage name before the designer’s trademark was established.
