In a new court filing, Taylor Swift's legal team says a lawsuit alleging that her album The Life of a Showgirl is a trademark infringement is 'absurd.'
Key Points
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The singer's lawyers argue that Maren Flagg, who filed the lawsuit, has instead attempted to use Swift's name for her brand.
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Flagg's lawyers tell Entertainment Weekly that they will file a response next week
Lawyers forTaylor Swiftdon't think much of the lawsuit claiming that her use ofThe Life of a Showgirl, the name of her 2025 album, is a trademark infringement.
On Wednesday, the "Fate of Ophelia" singer's legal team filed a brief calling the lawsuit "absurd," in response to the plaintiff's request for a preliminary injunction to stop Swift from using the phrase.
"This motion, just like Maren Flagg’s lawsuit, should never have been filed," Swift's legal team wrote in documents obtained byEntertainment Weekly. "It is simply Ms. Flagg's latest attempt to use Taylor Swift's name and intellectual property to prop up her brand."
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Flagg, who performs as Maren Wade, trademarked "Confessions of a Showgirl" in 2015. She filed the lawsuit against Swift in March in the United States District Court in California.
The singer's legal team insisted in the new filing, however, that it's unlikely someone would mistake Swift's record for Flagg's work, which has included a column forLas Vegas Weeklyand a touring production.
They also noted that Flagg had not maintained herwebsite, which notes that she's appeared on reality showAmerica's Got Talent. Her blog has not been updated since 2021, and her book,Confessions of a Showgirl, is labeled as "out of stock." Apodcast with the same title, listed on Apple Podcasts, never materialized.
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In fact, they allege, the podcast was first teased several days after Swift announced her forthcoming album's title. The description of the teaser promises the show will discuss "what happens when the world’s biggest pop star suddenly comes out as a showgirl too."
Swift's team accused Flagg of referring to Swift's album multiple times on social media after it was announced.
Flagg's attorney, Jaymie Parkkinen, provided a statement on the new filing toEntertainment Weekly: "We have read Defendants' papers. The Trademark Office refused Defendants' mark, and rather than engage that finding, the arguments are about, well, almost anything else. We file our response next week."
When the suit was filed, Parkkinen said in a statement toRolling Stone, "Maren spent more than a decade buildingConfessions of a Showgirl. She registered it. She earned it. When Taylor Swift’s team applied to registerThe Life of a Showgirl, the Trademark Office refused, finding Swift's mark confusingly similar. We have great respect for Swift's talent and success, but trademark law exists to ensure that creators at all levels can protect what they've built. That’s what this case is about."
A date has not been set for the trial.
While the case continues, so does the success of Swift's album. After its release in October, it became the fastest-selling album in history — a feat even for Swift — and so far has spawned the hits "The Fate of Ophelia," "Opalite," and "Elizabeth Taylor."
Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly
