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The legal battle between Taylor Swift and former Las Vegas showgirl Maren Wade has taken a new turn after Swift's legal team strongly responded to a trademark lawsuit linked to the title of the singer's upcoming album, 'The Life of a Showgirl', Variety reported.
According to the publication, Maren Wade, whose real name is Maren Flagg, had filed a lawsuit claiming that Swift's album title infringed on her trademark "Confessions of a Showgirl", which she has used since 2015 for her podcast, newspaper column, and cabaret performances. Flagg's lawsuit argued that both titles carry a similar structure and "overall commercial impression" and are aimed at similar audiences. She also sought a preliminary injunction to stop Swift from using the "The Life of a Showgirl" title further. 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 that 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, as per Variety. 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. (ANI)
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