The long-running legal dispute between Katy Perry and Katie Perry has been dragging on for years
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Singer Katy Perry may now have to accept defeat following the latest ruling in her long-running legal dispute with Australian designer Katie Perry.
The trademark fight between the global pop star and the Australian fashion designer has been going on for many years and has become a closely watched case.
Sydney-based Katie Perry, who now uses the name Katie Taylor, first registered her business name, Katie Perry, back in 2007 and then applied for a trademark under that name.
From 2008 onward, Taylor sold clothing at local markets and also built up an online presence through a website and several social media accounts using the Katie Perry brand.
As singer Katy Perry became more famous around the world, the singer and her legal team asked Taylor to stop using the business name and indicated that they were planning to challenge the trademark application. That action was later dropped.
Taylor has said: "I had never heard of the singer when I started my label. I was simply building a fashion business under the name I was born with."
The battle over the trademark has been a massive back and fourth between the pair
Mike Marsland/WireImage
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In 2019, Taylor sued the pop star for trademark infringement over merchandise sold during Katy Perry's 2014 tour, including jackets, hoodies, T-shirts, and sweatpants, claiming the sales breached trademark law.
She won the case in 2023, but that result was overturned in 2024 after an appeal by the singer.
Then, on March 11, 2026, Australia’s High Court ruled that Katie Perry had not damaged the US singer’s reputation or caused confusion through her clothing label.
Why Katie Perry won the trademark case against Katy Perry
In the latest ruling, the judges found that Katy Perry’s reputation in Australia was already so well known that people seeing Taylor’s clothing label would not confuse one for the other.
The justices also rejected the argument from the singer’s lawyers that Katy Perry had already built up a significant enough reputation in Australia when Taylor applied for her trademark in 2008, especially when it came to clothing.
Katie Taylor has said this has been about protecting small business
Instagram/@katieperry.clothing
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It has 'never just been about a name'
After the decision was handed down, designer Katie Perry spoke about how long and difficult the process had been.
She said: "This has been an incredibly long and difficult journey."
"But today confirms what I always believed - that trademarks should protect businesses of all sizes."
"This case has never just been about a name. It has been about protecting small business in Australia, for standing up for what is right and showing that we all matter."
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A representative for the pop singer later responded in a statement given to The Guardian, saying that Perry “never sought to close down Ms. Taylor's business or stop her selling clothes under the KATIE PERRY label”.
They added: "Today, by a 3:2 decision, the high court determined that Ms. Taylor's trademark can remain on the register. The court [also] sent the case back to the Full Federal Court to determine issues raised by Katy Perry, including Ms. Taylor's 10-year delay in bringing her case against Katy Perry."