The legal dispute between pop sensation Taylor Swift and former Las Vegas showgirl Maren Wade has intensified after a sharp rebuttal from Swift’s legal team regarding a trademark lawsuit.
Wade, legally known as Maren Flagg, alleges that Swift’s upcoming album title, “The Life of a Showgirl”, infringes on her “Confessions of a Showgirl” trademark, which she has used for her podcast, newspaper column, and cabaret performances since 2015.
Flagg’s suit contends that the two titles share a nearly identical structure and ” overall commercial impression,” potentially confusing the same target audience. In an effort to protect her brand, Flagg is seeking a preliminary injunction to bar Swift from using the title for her new project.
However, Swift’s attorneys strongly denied the claims in a legal filing submitted on Wednesday. Calling the argument “absurd,” Swift’s legal team said there was no chance of confusion between Swift’s global music projects and Wade’s cabaret performances.
In the filing, Swift’s lawyers wrote, “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…”
Swift’s lawyers also said Wade was trying to compare two completely different forms of entertainment.
“Plaintiff attempts to broadly lump her cabaret show and defendants’ musical album together as ‘entertainment services.’ That comparison is absurd,” the filing stated.
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The legal team further pointed out that Swift performs in sold-out stadium tours worldwide, while Wade performs at small venues, including retirement communities, resorts, hotels, and supper clubs.
Swift’s attorneys also questioned why Wade waited several months after the album announcement before asking for urgent legal action. According to the filing, Wade allegedly started using phrases connected to Swift’s album on social media after the announcement.
“Since the album announcement, plaintiff has reframed her brand around the album, flooding her social media accounts with posts attempting to align herself with Ms Swift and the album,” the filing stated.
The lawyers also accused Wade of using Swift’s music, artwork, hashtags, and branding without permission to promote her own content online.
“In one post, plaintiff used an album cover logo, audio from the album title track, hashtags including #thelifeofashowgirl; #swifties; #ts12; and #taylornation,” the filing added.
Meanwhile, Wade’s lawsuit claimed that Swift’s album promotion affected her own brand visibility online and pushed her content lower in search results.
No trial date has been announced yet.