You don’t know the life of a showgirl, babe: That’s what Taylor Swift’s lawyers are saying to Maren Wade, a Las Vegas performer whose cabaret show is called Confessions of a Showgirl.
As previously reported, Maren had filed a complaint claiming that Taylor’s album The Life of a Showgirl infringes her trademark, which she filed in 2015. She’d requested an injunction barring Taylor from selling any merch while the lawsuit moves through the courts.
But in a filing on Wednesday, obtained by ABC News, Taylor’s legal team argues that before she filed her complaint, Maren “repeatedly” attempted to associate herself with Taylor and her album. They provided over 40 examples of Maren’s “deliberate attempts to cause association between herself and Ms. Swift and/or the Album … in a manner seemingly designed to create false association or confusion.”
In addition, the team argues that Taylor’s album and merch are “expressive works … protected by the First Amendment,” so they can’t violate a trademark.
The legal team says that the “likelihood of confusion” among consumers in the marketplace is unlikely, since Maren’s “cabaret productions” are “dissimilar” to “any future musical concerts where Ms. Swift may perform.” In other words, fans are unlikely to confuse Maren’s shows with a Taylor Swift tour.
The lawyers also argue that “music — and in particular Ms. Swift’s music” is subject to “a high degree of care,” making it so “confusion is unlikely.” That means that fans are deeply invested in Taylor’s music, so they wouldn’t confuse Maren’s output with Taylor’s.
So, the lawyers conclude, Maren has “failed to demonstrate a likelihood of confusion or irreparable harm” if Taylor continues to sell The Life of a Showgirl merch, and are asking for her motion to be denied. A judge will consider the matter at a hearing later this month.
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