Australia High Court Backs Designer in Katy Perry Trademark Fight

Australia's High Court ruled on March 11, 2025, in favor of Sydney-based fashion designer Katie Jane Taylor, restoring her "Katie Perry" clothing trademark after a 17-year legal battle with pop singer Katy Perry. The decision overturns a prior appeals court ruling and sends the case back to a lower court for further proceedings on infringement claims related to the singer's merchandise sales.

Taylor, who operates under her birth name for her lifestyle clothing brand, launched the label in 2007 and applied to register the trademark in September 2008. At the time, she was selling colorful basics at local markets and had built a website for her small business. The singer, born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson and performing as Katy Perry since 2002, had gained fame with hits like "I Kissed a Girl" from her 2008 album One of the Boys. However, court records show the singer had not yet entered the Australian clothing market; her online merchandise store launched only a month after Taylor's registration date.

The dispute began in 2009 when lawyers for the singer, preparing for an Australian tour, sent a cease-and-desist letter to Taylor, demanding she stop using the name. Taylor, who said...