Taylor Swift defeats poet's plagiarism lawsuit in federal court

Taylor Swift has secured a legal victory after a federal judge dismissed a plagiarism lawsuit filed by Florida poet Kimberly Marasco, bringing the copyright dispute to an end.

According to court documents, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning the claims cannot be refiled. Marasco had alleged that Swift copied phrases, themes and ideas from her poetry in more than a dozen songs. The lawsuit also named songwriter Aaron Dessner, Republic Records and Universal Music Group as defendants.

In her ruling, Judge Cannon found that Marasco's poems did not contain legally protectable expression and that the complaint failed to plausibly demonstrate copying. The judge explained that copyright law protects original expression rather than general ideas, themes, metaphors or commonly used phrases.

The ruling highlighted several examples cited by the plaintiff, including comparisons between lyrics from The Man and The Great War with passages from Marasco's poems. However, the court concluded that the alleged similarities were limited to broad concepts, shared metaphors and short phrases that are not eligible for copyright protection.

Judge Cannon also determined that Marasco failed to establish that Swift had access to her work or that the poems and songs were substantially similar enough to support a copyright infringement claim. The decision further criticised the amended complaint for broadly grouping multiple defendants and claims together without clearly identifying each party's alleged role.

Marasco previously acknowledged that one of her poetry collections had sold around 3,000 copies worldwide and was no longer being actively promoted.

The dismissal marks the conclusion of a legal dispute that began in 2025, with Swift and her co-defendants prevailing after the court ruled that the allegations did not meet the legal standards required for a copyright infringement claim.