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ARTICLE · 29 MAY 2023

Two women, two teenage dreams, one name

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Brand owners should register a trade mark as early as possible, especially if they wish to use their name as a trade mark.

AustraliaIntellectual Property
Candice Noring
Candice Noring
Daniel Wilson
Daniel Wilson
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Taylor v Killer Queen, LLC (No 5) [2023] FCA 364 (21 April 2023) (Katy Perry / Katie Perry)

In this case, an Australian fashion designer, Katie Jane Taylor ("Taylor") succeeded in a trade mark infringement dispute against the well-known singer-songwriter Katy Perry (originally named Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson) ("Perry"). Taylor is the registered owner of Australian Trade Mark No. 1264761 KATIE PERRY in Class 25 for "clothes", and has used the trade mark "Katie Perry" since about 2007.

Essentially, Taylor claimed that Perry and her associated companies' (named, Killer Queen, Kitty Purry, and Purrfect Ventures) use of KATY PERRY and other marks infringed the KATIE PERRY mark. In Perry's cross-claim, Perry and her associated companies sought to have Taylor's mark cancelled and removed from the Trade Mark Register. under 88(1)(a) of the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth) relying on ss 60, 42, 43 and 88(2)(c).

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