Taylor Swift's album becomes target of copyright infringement lawsuit

Theme park in Utah claims that the artist stole their attraction and idea of ‘Escapism’

Utah theme park Evermore’s owners have alleged that pop sensation Taylor Swift’s most recent album of the same name has confused visitors, negatively affecting the park on search engines, reported The Guardian. The merchandise designs have also been infringed upon, according to the reports. The authority behind the theme park is seeking to claim damages as well as a legal cost.

Evermore, located in Pleasant Grove, Utah, is an immersive theme park in which guests travel through a "fantasy European hamlet of imagination," according to their website. Ken Bretschneider, the CEO of Evermore Park quoted in the complaint saying that escapism is central to the park's identity. The suit claims that, "Taylor Swift's description of the Evermore album echoes descriptions of Evermore the theme park, including mirroring the unique term (i.e. escapism)."

Visitors have reportedly asked “whether the Evermore album was the result of collaboration between Evermore and Swift or some other type of relationship” with the park, according to their HR director.

The lawsuit claims that some of the imagery, including concepts in Swift’s music videos from the album, infringes on the park’s official logo and aesthetic. The claim also highlights that the eponymous willow tree from the famous music video Willow, is a stolen concept from the park.

Swift’s legal team has called the claim “Baseless, frivolous and irresponsible,” adding, “It is inconceivable that there is any likelihood of confusion between your client’s theme park and related products and Ms Swift’s music and related products.”

 

Evermore, released less than five months after her previous album Folklore, reached the top spot in the US and UK, Swift’s sixth consecutive album to do so.

 

Another lawsuit brought up against the songstress previously is slowly making its way to US court system. In 2017, songwriters Sean Hall and Nathan Butler claimed that song Shake It Off had plagiarised lyrics from their song Players Gon’ by 3LW. Both the songs feature “the players gonna play” and “the haters gonna hate” lines.

In 2018, a judge ruled that the lyrical conceit was not sufficiently creative to be deemed an infringement but the decision was overturned on appeal. In September 2020, the court case was confirmed to go ahead once more.

Swift’s team maintains that Hall and Butler “did not invent these common phrases, nor are they the first to use them in a song. We are confident the true writers of Shake It Off will prevail again.”