Getty Images For dcp via ABC/Emma McIntyre/AMA2018Welcome to New York — you’ve been served.
The Blast reports that Taylor Swift is suing a business owner in Long Island, New York, accusing him of fraud. It’s actually a countersuit: The owner of the store, which is called SwiftLife, is already suing Taylor, accusing her of infringing on his trademark with her recently discontinued app, “The Swift Life.”
In her countersuit, Taylor claims the store owner, Patrick Lloyd Yves Benot, was able to get the name “SwiftLife” for his store by lying to the Trademark Office. In the suit, Taylor claims that when Benot registered the company, he used the name “S.L. SwiftLife Computer Services.”
Taylor claims this is proof that Benot never planned to use the name “SwiftLife” on its own…so he shouldn’t be suing her over it. Accordingly, she’s asking the court to cancel the store’s trademark, and is also asking Benot to pay her legal bills.
The Blast says Benot is the owner and sole employee of SwiftLife Computer Services, which does computer consulting. He says he launched the company in 2007 and trademarked the name in 2008.
In 2017, Taylor launched her app “The Swift Life,” and Benot claims his business has suffered due to the confusion.
Taylor initially responded by asking for the lawsuit to be dismissed, on the grounds that nobody was confusing the two SwiftLifes, because one is a company and one is an app and they are both marketed to different audiences.
However, The Blast reports that a judge recently allowed Benot’s suit to move forward, hence Taylor’s new countersuit.
Copyright © 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
