Singer Katy Perry has successfully appealed a trademark decision over her name.
Last year she was sued by Katie Taylor, an Australian designer who sells clothes under her birth name Katie Perry.
Taylor sued the pop star for selling merchandise during a 2014 tour of Australia.
But on Friday, three appeals judges overturned that decision.
They said Perry had been using her name as a trademark five years before Taylor started her business, and had attained an “international reputation” in entertainment.
”Roar” Singer Katy Perry has successfully appealed a trademark decision over her name, after being sued by an Australian designer who sells clothes under her birth name Katie Perry.
Three appeals judges on Friday overturned a court decision last year that favoured Katie Taylor over merchandise sold by the pop star during a 2014 tour of Australia.
The judges said Perry had been using her name as a trademark five years before Taylor started her business, adding that by that time, Perry had attained an “international reputation” in entertainment.
The judges also cancelled Taylor’s trademark registration on Friday.
Taylor had likened her legal battle with Perry to “David and Goliath”. She told the Sydney Morning Herald after Friday’s ruling that she was “devastated” with the case outcome.
The appeals judges said it was “unfortunate” that the case pitted two enterprising women who used their names as trademarks but were unaware that the other existed.
“Both women put blood, sweat and tears into developing their businesses,” the judges said.
“As the fame of one grew internationally, the other became aware of her namesake and filed a trademark application,” they said.
The judge who ruled in favour of Taylor last year referenced one of Perry’s biggest hits in her decision: “This is a tale of two women, two teenage dreams and one name”.
Friday’s ruling comes as Perry prepares for her Lifetimes world tour in early 2025 to support her comeback album 143.
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Along with Perry’s successful appeal, the judges also canceled Taylor’s trademark registration on Nov. 22. They found that Taylor only applied for her trademark after realizing Perry’s reputation and some of Taylor’s brand decisions could have increased the chances of “consumers potentially being deceived or confused.”
“This case is an unfortunate one in the sense that two enterprising women in different countries each adopted their name as a trademark at a time that each was unaware of the existence of the other,” the ruling read, per USA Today. “Both women put blood, sweat and tears into developing their businesses,” per BBC.
“As the fame of one grew internationally, the other became aware of her namesake and filed a trademark application,” the ruling read, per BBC.
Taylor issued a statement: “This case proves a trademark isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. 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,” per The Guardian.
“I have lost everything, including my trademark. As you can imagine I’m devastated,” she told The New York Post.
