Katy Perry Lawsuit Tackles Merchandise Fakes

Lawsuits are flying in both directions around singer Katy Perry. Just last week, fans were shocked by news that the singer was being sued by a number of Christian musicians who say Katy ripped off their intellectual property by nabbing bits of their song to use in her “Dark Horse.”

Now, Perry — or rather, the company licensed to handle her merchandise — is suing other manufacturers for pumping out counterfeit t-shirts, posters, and more with the star’s likeness, but without her permission.

According to TMZ, the company, Bravado International, isn’t one to play games with copyright theft: they’ve got a bit of a reputation for hunting down counterfeiters and suing to protect their intellectual property. Katy Perry isn’t the first famous face for whom they’ve worked to preserve their rights to market. TMZ reminds us of the 2009 lawsuit in which Bravado International cut down counterfeit merchandisers over the sale of items relating to six different musical acts, including The Rolling Stones, The Doors, and Michael Jackson.

It seems the dealers are peddling their fake wares outside Katy Perry concerts, and the one company which has contracted with Perry to sell licensed merchandise has had its fill and is asking a judge to issue an order for the copyright bandits to cease and desist. The Arizona Republic reports the company is also asking for any unofficial Katy Perry merchandise sold outside concert venues to be seized, in hopes of shutting down the counterfeiters for good.

In the 2009 suit, Bravado International sought $2 million per copyright infringement, but there’s no word so far on what fines and penalties they seek in the Katy Perry case if the current counterfeiters keep it up after being warned off. There’s no answer yet from the court system, but perhaps the lawsuit, plus an awareness of how serious Bravado International was in the 2009 case, will make the thieves think a little harder before they set up shop for Katy’s upcoming concerts.

With one entity suing in Perry’s name and another suing her, it’s small wonder the singer needed a break over the July 4th holiday and headed to Walt Disney World for a quick getaway.

Brief it was, though:

And then the clock struck 12 noon, back to being a peasant http://t.co/0iNUGuLZFH

— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) July 5, 2014

It’s definitely back to the daily grind for her now, though, because Katy Perry has tour dates in New York and New Jersey this week.

[Photo Credits: spendmag.nl and anazahra.com]