Katy Perry sued by Australian designer Katie Perry over trademark
Katy Perry and Katie Perry - who both have a clothing line - will go head to head in a "David and Goliath fight".
Friday 1 November 2019 18:28, UK
Singer Katy Perry is being sued by Australian fashion designer Katie Perry for trademark infringement.
Describing it as "a real David and Goliath fight," Ms Taylor said: "The singer has ignored my trademark and continued to sell infringing goods unlawfully in Australia.
"I am fighting not just for myself, but for all small businesses in this country who can be bullied by these overseas entities who have much more financial power than we do."
The challenge comes after the singer's clothing line was launched across Australia.
It's the second time the two Perrys have come to grief over their shared name, with the Fireworks singer attempting to stop the designer from trademarking her name back in 2009.
The designer's legal team claim the singer "tried to bully her" in that case via her lawyers, threatening to sue her unless she gave up the name.
The case was later withdrawn.
However, the boot is now on the other foot.
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Sydney designer Perry is using her married name of Katie Taylor to pursue the case.
The mother of two says it has only been made possible thanks to legal funding thorough global litigation funder Litigation Capital Management.
The designer, who has previously worked in London, started her company in 2006.
She has owned the trademark registration for Katie Perry-branded clothes in Australia for the last 11 years.
It's not the first legal challenge the I Kissed A Girl singer has faced this year, after she was accused of copying part of the 2008 song Joyful Noise in her track Dark Horse.
She was ordered to pay rapper Flame $550,000.
She was also embroiled in a property battle with nuns over the purchase of a former Los Angeles convent last year.
Tragically, Catherine Rose Holzman, a nun involved in the case, collapsed and died as she prepared to face Perry's legal team in a Los Angeles Court in March 2018.
Perry did not end up buying the property.
Sky News has contacted singer Katy Perry's representatives for comment.