Taylor Swift is being sued by the owners of a theme park.
Taylor Swift
The 'Cardigan' singer has been hit by a lawsuit from the owners of Utah's Evermore Park, who have accused her of trademark infringement over her 'Evermore' album and related merchandise, and insisted the release of the record caused "actual confusion".
They alleged this has negatively affected the attraction's online presence, as well as infringing on its marketing and merchandise and impacting its visitors.
According to court documents obtained by Rolling Stone, theme park visitors asked staff whether "'Evermore' album was the result of a collaboration between Evermore and Taylor Swift or some other type of relationship.”
The suit included photographs of Evermore Park's merchandise and argued Taylor was offering similar products, which would be counterfeit as a result of their own trademark.
In response to a cease-and-desist letter from the theme park, the 31-year-old singer's lawyers branded the claims "baseless" and insisted that Taylor hadn't infringed on the trademark, pointing out she hasn't released items sold at the park, such as small dragon eggs, guild patches, and dragon mounts.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the 'Bad Blood' hitmaker branded the lawsuit "frivolous" and suggested park owners were just looking for money, pointing out their apparent financial woes.
Her representative said: "The fact is, this frivolous claim is coming from Ken Bretschneider, founder and CEO of an experience park and according to Utah Business, ‘As of June 2020, at least five lawsuits have been filed against Bretschneider and the Evermore group by major construction companies like Sunroc, AGC Drywall and Construction, Geneva Rock, Mountain Point Landscaping, EME Mechanical, Kreativ Woodworks, and NFH Distributing (Beehive Brick and Stone).
“The companies claim ‘they are owed between $28,000 and $400,000.’ Utah Business says, ‘he owes millions of dollars in construction, mechanic, and landscaping fees to workers across the valley who have yet to be paid’… with ‘a collection of more than 20 construction liens on the Evermore property.’ The true intent of this lawsuit should be obvious.”
The lawsuit is looking for “not more than $2 million per counterfeit mark” in connection with trademark infringement on clothing, as well as additional damages and costs.
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