Beth GarrabrantA few weeks ago, a theme park in Utah called Evermore sued Taylor Swift for trademark infringement, claiming the name of her most recent album, evermore, caused “actual confusion” among consumers. Taylor’s lawyers initially called the suit “frivolous,” and now, her company is fighting back.
Rolling Stone reports that TAS Rights Management, which handles the rights to Taylor’s trademarks and music, is now countersuing the theme park. The suit claims that, despite Evermore accusing Taylor of violating its copyrights, the park itself did just that, by using three of Taylor’s songs at the park without a proper license. The three songs in question were “Love Story,” “You Belong with Me” and “Bad Blood.”
In the suit, obtained by Rolling Stone, TAS claims that Evermore ignored messages from the performance rights organization BMI regarding the alleged infringement, and “opted instead to continue to benefit from the free and unauthorized public performance” of Taylor’s hits.
The suit further claims that it was only once the head of Evermore found out that TAS Rights Management was planning to sue, he asked BMI to issue a “retroactive license” covering all performances from 2018 to 2021.
When contacted by ABC Audio, a rep for Taylor had no comment on the suit.
By Andrea Dresdale
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