I sued a girl and I lost it…
Following a long and gruelling court case, the Federal Court of Australia has today ruled in favour of designer Katie Perry to sell clothing under her birth name, Katie Perry.
In an Instagram post, Perry called it a “win for small business,” a battle she had been fighting against pop-star Katy Perry since 2009.
Katie Perry was first registered as a trade mark in Australia in 2008. Disputes started in 2009, when the singer announced her Hello Katy Australian tour.
Katie nearly had her business shut down by the singer’s team, but the case failed and was withdrawn.
Emails from the time reveal Perry’s management sent cease and desist letters to Katie over use of the name.
Additionally, manager Steven Jensen tries to calm the singer behind the scenes, saying “as is common in Australia, the tabloids have picked this up and made it into a ‘story’.”
Perry responds, “Stupid b*tches. I wouldn’t have even bothered with this [if] mtv hadn’t picked up this silliness. Dumb bitch! Rawr!”
Let’s not forget this same woman has been to space.
Then in 2019, Katy Perry attempted to sell clothes and accessories branded with the Perry brand, which Katie alleged infringed on her trademark. She subsequently took the singer to Federal Court.
Perry (the designer) told the court she wasn’t aware of Perry (the singer) when she first trademarked the name.
Under Australian trademark law, a trademark can be opposed if a trademark similar to it has acquired a reputation beforeand, especially if the two are confusing.
The 2019 ruling found that because Katy Perry had already established a reputation in Australia and therefore the clothing brand Katie Perry ran the risk of being cancelled.
Appeals on both sides persisted until today’s ruling, which declared the designer’s trade mark was unlikely to cause harm or confusion to Katy Perry’s reputation.
The high court stated Katy Perry had engaged in a “calculated disregard” of Katie Perry’s existing brand by attempting to sell clothes.
The nearly 17 year long debacle is finally over.
