A Sydney fashion designer says she is "devastated" after a legal loss to international pop superstar Katy Perry.
Katie Jane Taylor (nee Perry) had sold and designed her own line of clothing under her "Katie Perry" label since 2007, after being inspired by a trip to Italy.
She sued the United States singer Katy Perry — whose real name is Katheryn Hudson — for trademark infringement in the Federal Court in 2019, more than 10 years after the singer started selling her own brand of merchandise, including clothing, under her own name.
Taylor had a
after a Federal Court judge found one of Perry's companies had infringed on the fashion designer's trademark. But an appeal was filed.
The Katy Perry trademark was used years before the Australian design business began, the judges found. Source: AAP / James Ross
On Friday, three appeal judges unanimously overturned the federal judge's findings and ordered that Taylor's trademark be deregistered.
They described the case as an "unfortunate one" in which two enterprising women in different countries had adopted their names as a trademark.
Taylor told SBS News she was "absolutely devastated" and that it was not the outcome she'd hoped for or was expecting.
"I feel like I've been hit by a truck," she said.
"The thing that is most devastating for me is that they've dismissed by trademark that I have held since 2008, that I've been trading under all of these years, and I've now lost that.
"I've lost my business, which has been my dream since I was 11 years old.
The three appeal judges wrote both women had put "blood, sweat and tears into developing their businesses".
"As the fame of one grew internationally, the other became aware of her namesake and filed a trademark application."
Perry used her name as a trademark in good faith during the 2014 Prism tour and had been doing so five years before Taylor launched her own business, the judges noted.
The pop singer's name was also used honestly on clothing and other merchandise sold in Australia, the court found.
In May 2009, after becoming aware of Taylor's application to register the Katie Perry trademark, the superstar told her talent agent Steven Jensen to "keep me outta it entirely".
"I wouldn't have even bothered with this if MTV hadn't picked up this silliness," she wrote in an email.
"Dumb bitch! Rawr!"
Katy Perry said she wouldn't have been bothered if MTV "hadn't picked up this silliness". Source: AAP / James Ross
The Katie Perry trademark had been applied for when Taylor already knew of the singer's reputation, the judges found.
It was deregistered on Friday after the Full Court ruled it was deceptively similar to the Katy Perry brand and was likely to cause confusion among consumers.
While diehard fans would notice the slight differences in spelling, the ordinary consumer would wonder whether clothing sold by the local designer was associated with the US pop star, the court found.
In a statement, Taylor said she was devastated and heartbroken by the decision.
"This case proves a trademark isn't worth the paper it's printed on," she said.
"My fashion label has been a dream of mine since I was 11 years old, and now that dream that I have worked so hard for since 2006 has been taken away."
She said she would take time with her legal team to consider the judgment and what next steps were available.
Meanwhile, Perry declined to comment when contacted through her lawyers.
She will tour Australia for the first time in six years in June after making a brief visit to the country in September to perform at the AFL grand final.
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