Katy Perry has lost a 17-year-long trademark battle in Australia after the High Court of Australia sided with fashion designer Katie Jane Taylor, who sells clothing under the name Katie Perry.In a majority ruling delivered on Wednesday (11 March), the court found that Taylor’s ‘Katie Perry’ clothing trademark did not break Australian law and was unlikely to confuse shoppers or harm the singer’s reputation.Judges said Perry’s brand and merchandise distributor had been ‘a persistent or assiduous infringer of the appellant’s validly registered’ Katie Perry trademark, according to ABC.A spokesperson for the 41-year-old ‘Firework’s singer told Tyla today: “Katy Perry has never sought to close down Ms Taylor’s business or stop her selling clothes under the KATIE PERRY label.”

“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.”And in a statement posted on the official Katie Perry website, Taylor said the decision showed that ‘even small Australian businesses’ could stand up for their rights.She said: “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.”The ruling closes a dispute that dragged on for nearly 17 years and centred on who could legally sell clothing under the Perry name in Australia.