Katy Perry has been locked in a long-running trademark dispute with Australian designer Katie Perry — and after 16 years, the case finally has a definitive ruling.
Keep reading for the full breakdown.
Australian designer Katie Perry has won her lengthy trademark battle against American singer Katy Perry. On Wednesday, March 11, the High Court of Australia ruled that the designer had not damaged the singer’s reputation or misled consumers by using her own name for her clothing label, which she launched in 2007.
Katy Perry — born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson — had been embroiled in the dispute for more than a decade with Katie Perry, who now goes by Katie Taylor after marriage. Taylor has been selling clothing under the “Katie Perry” brand since 2008, both online and through social media.
In 2009, the singer’s legal team sent Taylor a cease-and-desist letter.
“I had never heard of the singer when I started my label,” Taylor said, explaining that she first learned of Katy Perry in mid‑2008 when I Kissed a Girl was on the radio.
“I was simply building a fashion business under the name I was born with,” she added. In 2019, Taylor sued and won a case claiming that the singer’s sale of sweatpants, hoodies, jackets, and other merchandise during her 2014 tour infringed her trademark.
In 2024, that ruling was overturned on appeal, with judges finding that the singer had used her name as a trademark five years before Taylor launched her business.
In the latest decision, a 3–2 majority concluded that “given the heightened strength of Katy Perry’s reputation, no ordinary person in Australia, after a moment’s reflection, would think Katie Perry’s products were linked to the singer.”
The court also noted that Katy Perry’s own label and her international merchandise distributor, Bravado, had been selling clothing in Australia despite their registrations excluding apparel — meaning they had directly infringed Taylor’s trademark.
After the ruling, both sides issued statements. A spokesperson for the singer said, “Katy Perry has never sought to close down Ms. Taylor’s business or stop her from selling clothes under the Katie Perry label.”
“Today, by a 3:2 decision, the High Court determined that Ms. Taylor’s trademark can remain on the register,” the statement continued, adding that the case was being sent back to the Full Federal Court to address issues raised by the singer, including Taylor’s decade-long delay in bringing her claim.
Taylor’s brand released its own statement, saying the decision showed that “even small Australian businesses” can defend their rights.
“This case has never just been about a name,” the statement read. “It has been about protecting small businesses in Australia, standing up for what’s right, and showing that we all matter.”
Taylor also appeared on A Current Affair, a major Australian news program, saying one of her motivations for pursuing the case was to set an example for her children.
This isn’t the first time Katy Perry has faced legal controversy. In 2015, she attempted to buy a former convent in Los Feliz, Los Angeles, for $14.5 million. Two nuns — Sister Catherine Rose Holzman and Sister Rita Callanan — opposed the sale, despite approval from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Sister Holzman later died during a post‑judgment hearing. After the backlash, Perry did not move forward with the purchase.
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