<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>What's in a name?</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>For international pop star Katy Perry and Australian fashion designer Katie Perry, the answer can be found in a slight variation in spelling and more than six years of litigation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The fight over the rights to the Katie/Katy Perry name began when the designer - now known as Katie Taylor - sued the performer behind Firework and Roar for trademark infringement.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The US singer, whose real name is Katheryn Hudson, hit back with a bid to cancel the designer's trademark, arguing it was likely to harm her reputation or deceive shoppers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/nsw-earthquake-boorowa-shaken-by-quake-geoscience-australia-says/9cdbfa0c-6228-47dc-8548-7c833365f247" rel="" target="" title="NSW and ACT shaken by magnitude 4.4 earthquake"><strong><span>NSW and ACT shaken by magnitude 4.4 earthquake</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The dispute dragged on for over six years after the pop star successfully overturned an initial Federal Court ruling that the designer's trademark had been infringed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But it came to a decisive end on Wednesday when the nation's highest court decided the David-and-Goliath battle in favour of the Australian.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/designer-delights-in-dark-horse-victory-over-katy-perry/65fc6a4d-8d28-4527-9615-9838ef99be15" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The designer's mark was not in breach of trademark law and was not likely to harm the Dark Horse singer's reputation or cause confusion, the High Court ruled </span><a href="https://www.hcourt.gov.au/sites/default/files/eresources/2026-03-11/HCA/Taylor%20v%20Killer%20Queen%20LLC%20%28S49-2025%29%20%5B2026%5D%20HCA%205.pdf" title="https://www.hcourt.gov.au/sites/default/files/eresources/2026-03-11/HCA/Taylor%20v%20Killer%20Queen%20LLC%20%28S49-2025%29%20%5B2026%5D%20HCA%205.pdf"><span>in a majority decision</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>After years fighting to hold onto the label she has spent nearly 20 years building, Ms Taylor hailed the ruling as a victory for small businesses everywhere.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I am absolutely over the moon," Ms Taylor said in a statement to AAP.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It honestly feels like a dream."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Her lawyers argued during the High Court hearing that shoppers were savvy enough to distinguish between the two spellings and wouldn't connect the label to the pop star.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The designer said she didn't know of the singer's existence when she first sought the clothing trademark in 2007.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But by the time Ms Taylor applied to trademark the name Katie Perry, she had heard </span><em><span>I Kissed a Girl</span></em><span> on the radio and bought the song on iTunes.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There was no way she could have known how famous Ms Hudson would become, her lawyer told the High Court in September.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the pop star's lawyers contended Ms Taylor should have made a complaint earlier instead of waiting 10 years after the sale of Katy Perry-branded merchandise began.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The designer faced the possibility of having the Katie Perry trademark de-registered after her 2023 win in the Federal Court was overturned on appeal.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The </span><a href="https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/full/2024/2024fcafc0149" rel="" target="" title="https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/full/2024/2024fcafc0149"><span>appeal judges found</span></a><span> the designer's mark was deceptively similar to the pop star's brand and was likely to cause confusion.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But they had made a mistake in concluding there were grounds for its cancellation, the High Court determined in its majority ruling.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The decision marks the end of a tug-of-war that has been running since 2009, when Ms Hudson became aware the designer had applied to register the Katie Perry trademark.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>According to court documents, the superstar told her talent agent Steven Jensen to "keep me outta it entirely".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I wouldn't have even bothered with this (if) mtv hadn't picked up this silliness," she wrote in an email.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Dumb bitch! Rawr!"</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The singer is on the hook to foot Ms Taylor's legal bill, with the figure to be determined at a later date.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The designer is celebrating with her family before returning to designing clothing.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's been a long road, but I'm excited to move forward," she told AAP.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></strong></em><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><em><strong><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>Apple</span></strong></em></a><span> </span><em><strong><span>and</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>Google Play</span></strong></em></a></li><li><em><strong><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>ticking this box here</span></strong></em></a></li><li><em><strong><span>Sign up to</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></strong></em></a></li></ul></div></div>