Popstar Katy Perry loses trademark case against Australian designer
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Canberra: American pop singer Katy Perry has lost a trademark battle with an Australian fashion designer with the same but differently spelt name.
Katie Perry, now known as Katie Taylor, is a fashion designer who claimed that the pop star's merchandise infringed the trademark she owned. She sued the singer over the clothing sold during the 2014 Australian tour.
The case is over promoting a jacket advertising her album Roar, "Cozy Little Christmas" hoodies, T-shirts, sweatpants and scarves, on social media.
Federal court judge Brigitte Markovic ruled that Katy Perry's company Kitty Purry partially infringed the trademark of Katie Taylor's business, reported BBC. The judge said: "This is a tale of two women, two teenage dreams, and one name."
The damages that the pop star will have to pay will be decided at a later date.
The judge said the Teenage Dream singer, born Katheryn Hudson, used the Katy Perry name in "good faith" and does not owe any personal compensation to the designer. But her company Kitty Purry must pay damages.
Taylor said the verdict is a "David and Goliath'' win for small businesses. "Not only have I fought myself, but I fought for small businesses in this country, many of them started by women, who can find themselves up against overseas entities who have much more financial power than we do," she wrote on her blog.
Taylor registered the Katie Perry brand in Australia in 2008. Singer Katy Perry initially tried to block the registration but later abandoned the move. After Taylor sued her, she made a bid to cancel the Katie Perry trademark but the judge dismissed it.