Taylor Swift is hitting back at a lawsuit.
The 36-year-old “Opalite” singer-songwriter’s lawyers responded to Maren Wade‘s lawsuit regarding The Life of a Showgirl.
The Las Vegas performer, who puts on a cabaret show called Confessions of a Showgirl, claims that Taylor‘s latest album infringes on her intellectual property, and she’s seeking an immediate injunction to stop her from selling merch amid the legal battle.
Now, Taylor‘s legal team at Venable LLP have spoken out on Wednesday (May 6) in a new filing opposing the injunction request, accusing Maren of “attempting to get the attention of Ms. Swift’s fandom for her own gain,” via Billboard.
The lawyers claim it would cost tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue, and argues that the plaintiff “embraced and sought to associate herself” with The Life of a Showgirl to get a “marketing boost.”
The filing includes more than 40 posts from the performer’s social media featuring Taylor‘s music and various hashtags related to the album and her fans.
“Far from showing any concern about the album after its announcement, Ms. Flagg spent several months centering her brand on The Life of a Showgirl’s name, artwork, music and lyrics to promote her little-known cabaret show. When plaintiff’s attempts to exploit Ms. Swift’s intellectual property failed to garner the desired attention (likely because, despite Ms. Flagg’s best efforts, consumers were not confused into believing these two brands were even remotely connected), she concocted a meritless lawsuit.”
The attorneys say that it’s the performer misusing Taylor‘s IP and “will be pursuing appropriate remedies for that intentional, commercial misuse.”
“It is widely known that Ms. Swift’s fanbase is a dedicated and informed set of consumers. Their attention to detail is legendary when it comes to information about Ms. Swift’s albums or merchandise, with fans eagerly detecting ‘easter eggs’ and pouring over Ms. Swift’s works in connection with numerology codes and word searches. There is no chance they would be confused between plaintiff’s cabaret shows and Ms. Swift’s album and related promotional merchandise,” the filing goes on to read, per Billboard.
“We read it. Defendants assert First Amendment protection for napkins and hairbrushes. We look forward to filing our response next week,” Maren Wade’s attorney Jaymie Parkkinen said in response.
A hearing is scheduled for May 27 in Los Angeles.
Travis Kelce recently spoke out about his upcoming nuptials with the Folklore superstar.
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