Australia: US popstar Katy Perry rocks fashion designer's world

HER fashion sense has been described as "Lolita meets Joan Jett" but if you think US popstar Katy Perry's style is too quirky for Australian shoppers, think again.

Lawyers acting for the singer and musician are opposing a bid by a local fashion designer to trademark her birth name, Katie Perry, for her clothing label, despite the minor difference in spelling.

The Australian Perry, who started her Katie Perry luxury loungewear label two years ago and has been trading online and through local markets, as well as participating in local fashion parades, launched a trademark application last September.

Last week she received a letter from Queensland-based legal firm Fisher Adams Kelly, acting for the popstar, asking her to stop trading.

"I got such a huge shock," Perry said.

"It really felt like I was being intimidated and bullied into signing everything away.

"It asked me to give up the trademark, withdraw sale of my clothes, withdraw any advertising and any websites, and sign that I will not in the future use a similar trademark to Katy Perry. I pretty much burst into tears."

Perry, a former menswear fashion manager for retailer David Jones, opened her first retail outlet in the Sydney suburb of Mosman last week, and recently picked up her first stockist, in the NSW south coast town of Kiama.

She said while she was born Katie Jane Perry and has never changed her name, she sometimes goes by the name Katie Howell -- although her fashion label does not trade under that name. "I love my business. I'm not going to give it away without a fight either," she said. "I'm not trying to become a singer. I'm not pretending to be her. This is my income. And it's the livelihood of my contractors as well."

Neither Fisher Adams Kelly nor a spokeswoman for Katy Perry's record label EMI would comment yesterday. The singer is set to tour here in August.

But trademark lawyer Trevor Choy said it was no surprise the singing Perry had opposed the trademark application.

Fashion is a common area into which celebrities launch brands, with singers including Jennifer Lopez and Gwen Stefani launching their own fashion labels.

"A lot of US popstars are moving into all sorts of merchandising," Mr Choy said. "Clothing is an obvious one for popstars. The fact that it's (Australian Katie Perry's) birth name doesn't necessarily change things dramatically. It means they can't stop her from using it but she can't necessarily get protection over it.

"If she's really got evidence to show she's been trading before the popstar became famous she should in theory be able to hold on to that trademark."

Fashion publicist Trish Nicol said the singer had a feminine fashion style that would lend itself to a label of her own.

"It's very feminine and she's got a fun personality. It does lend itself to in the future doing something like that."