- Taylor Swift faces a trademark lawsuit over her album title The Life of a Showgirl
- Maren Flagg owns the trademark for Confessions of a Showgirl since 2015
- Flagg claims Swift’s album title confuses audiences and harms her brand
Pop icon Taylor Swift has responded to a trademark lawsuit filed by a former Las Vegas performer over the title of the singer's album The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift's legal team labelled Maren Flagg's claims as “absurd” and that there was no realistic chance audiences would confuse the two brands, Variety reported.
Flagg, who performs as Maren Wade, reportedly filed the lawsuit in March, saying that Swift's album title was too similar to her trademarked phrase “Confessions of a Showgirl.” Flagg registered the trademark in 2015 and has used it for a podcast, newspaper column and cabaret performances.
According to the complaint, both titles share “same” structure, phrase and are marketed within the entertainment industry to similar audiences. Flagg sought a preliminary injunction to stop Swift from continuing to use the “Life of a Showgirl” branding.
But Swift's attorneys strongly rejected the argument. “It is simply Ms. Flagg's latest attempt to use Taylor Swift's name and intellectual property to prop up her brand…,” the lawyers stated in the filing obtained by Variety.
“Plaintiff attempts to broadly lump her cabaret show and defendants' musical album together as ‘entertainment services.' That comparison is absurd,” they added.
The filing further stated that Flagg performs in limited-capacity venues including resorts, hotels and supper clubs while Swift's project is a major commercial music release. Swift's team also questioned why Flagg waited nearly eight months after the album announcement to seek emergency legal action.
The response alleged that Flagg herself repeatedly used Swift's branding after the album reveal. According to the filing, Flagg posted more than 40 social media updates where she referenced Swift, the album title and related hashtags. Swift's lawyers claimed Flagg attempted to connect her own brand to the album and used Swift's music, artwork and imagery without permission.
The filing also warned that TAS Rights Management may pursue legal remedies over those alleged uses. One example cited by Swift's team involved a post featuring audio from the album, album-style visuals and hashtags including #swifties and #thelifeofashowgirl.
Flagg's lawsuit argued that Swift's album sales were harming her business and reducing the visibility of her own brand online. Her attorney, Jaymie Parkkinen, previously said Flagg “spent more than a decade building the Confessions of a Showgirl” name and claimed the Trademark Office initially refused Swift's application because of the existing trademark.
Parkkinen told Billboard that they will move forward with the case.
