Taylor Swift’s attorney slams “absurd” trademark lawsuit
The attorneys working on behalf of Taylor Swift have lashed out at a lawsuit filed by a former Las Vegas showgirl who claims that Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl album infringes on her trademark phrase, “Confessions of a Showgirl”.
Maren Flagg, also known by the stage name Maren Wade, filed the lawsuit in March in the United States District Court in California.
The lawsuit claimed that the two titles “share the same structure, the same dominant phrase, and the same overall commercial impression. Both are used in overlapping markets and are directed at the same consumers.”
Flagg trademarked “Confessions of a Showgirl” in 2015. From there, she used it for a newspaper column, as well as certain cabaret performances and her own podcast.
As such, she is suing Swift for trademark infringement and damages over the name, as “A solo performer who spent 12 years building a brand shouldn’t have to watch it disappear because someone bigger came along,” her lawyer, Jaymie Parkinnen, said in a statement (per The Hollywood Reporter).
She has now requested a preliminary injunction that would immediately prevent Swift from further use of the Life of a Showgirl brand.
As per Variety, Swift’s attorneys are not happy with the latest development; they filed a brief that began staunchly, “This motion, just like Maren Flagg’s lawsuit, should never have been filed. It is simply Ms. Flagg’s latest attempt to use Taylor Swift’s name and intellectual property to prop up her brand…”
The ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ singer’s lawyers continue, “Plaintiff attempts to broadly lump her cabaret show and defendants’ musical album together as ‘entertainment services.’ That comparison is absurd.”
The lawyers add scathingly that there is little chance of confusion between Swift’s globally renowed stadium tour and the plaintiffs cabaret appearances in which she “performs, if at all, in small intimate venues, such as a: ’55+ active community,’ ’55+ golf resort’; ‘RV & Golf Resort’; ’90 seat cabaret-style venue’ that offers dinner; hotel; and private supper club. Her website lists no upcoming performances.”
They also alleged that Flagg has herself been “flooding” social media “with 40+ advertisements for her brand using Ms. Swift’s music, trademarks, and other intellectual property without permission”. In a rebuttal of the claims made against Swift, the lawyers add that each of Flagg’s “advertisements constitutes actionable infringement”.
They add, “In addition to attempting to confuse consumers, plaintiff’s commercial use of Ms. Swift’s art constitutes clear infringement under federal law.”
So far, no official trial date has been set.
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