Taylor Swift is being sued by an actual Las Vegas showgirl over her chart-topping album, The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is facing a lawsuit in relation to the title of her latest album after Maren Wade – a former America’s Got Talent contestant and Las Vegas Weekly writer of a column titled ‘Confessions of a Showgirl’ – filed a federal lawsuit on March 30 accusing Swift and her affiliated companies of trademark infringement.
In her complaint, Wade claimed Swift and Universal Music Group (UMG) infringed on Wade’s long-running brand ‘Confessions of a Showgirl’, with the Las Vegas performer siting “trademark infringement, false designation and unfair competition”.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Wade trademarked ‘Confessions of a Showgirl’ back in 2015, and claims the “similarity” between her brand and Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl is “immediate”
“Both share the same structure, the same dominant phrase, and the same overall commercial impression,” the lawsuit claims.
“Both are used in overlapping markets and are directed at the same consumers.”
In the lawsuit, Wade said she spent more than a decade building that brand through live performances, writing and digital media, and later a podcast, with its origins traced back to her Las Vegas Weekly column launched in 2014 about her experiences as a performer in the entertainment industry.
That column quickly evolved into a touring stage production, and in 2015, Wade federally registered the name and has since achieved incontestable status that legally strengthens her ownership rights.
“A solo performer who spent twelve years building a brand shouldn’t have to watch it disappear because someone bigger came along,” her lawyer Jaymie Parkinnen said in a statement, as per THR.
But here’s the real kicker: when Swift initially tried to trademark The Life of a Showgirl before its release last year, the United States Patent and Trademark Office reportedly rejected her applications as it was “confusingly similar” to Wade’s existing work.
In the lawsuit, Wade further accuses Swift of ignoring her trademark, claiming her brand has been undermined as the singer went forth and branded merchandise, packaging and marketing with her album title.
“They did not do so quietly,” the lawsuit continues. “Within weeks, the designation was affixed to consumer goods, stamped onto labels, tags, and packaging, and deployed as a source identifier across retail channels – all directed at the same audience Plaintiff had spent years cultivating.”
Wade is seeking damages, as well as an injunction banning Swift from continuing to use the phrase “The Life of a Showgirl”, which has eclipsed the existing brand ‘Confessions of a Showgirl’ brand.
Meanwhile, just last week, Swift won a total of seven awards for The Life of a Showgirl at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, including Artist of the Year, Album of the Year and Pop Album of the Year and Best Music Video.