Swift and Utah theme park drop IP suits

A Utah theme park which accused Taylor Swift of infringing its IP with the name of her latest album has dropped its trademark lawsuit against the pop star.

Swift has also withdrawn claims accusing Evermore Park of using her songs without permission. The theme park sued Swift in February, two months after the release of her ‘Evermore’ album, claiming that she was selling “counterfeit merchandise” and misleading customers into thinking it was associated with the record.

Evermore Park claimed visitors to the facility had been asking staff members whether there had been a collaboration with Swift, also citing a 330% spike in traffic on its website on the day of the album’s release. Swift fired back with claims that Evermore Park had been using her music to promote the business without her permission.

The parties have now agreed to settle all the claims, with a spokesperson for Swift telling Billboard: “As a resolution of both lawsuits, the parties will drop and dismiss their respective lawsuits without monetary settlement.”

Evermore Park’s suit claimed that Swift had taken inspiration from the theme park for key themes, including escapism, on her latest album. It also alleged that Swift’s lawyers had tried to use its financial difficulties arising from the pandemic as leverage over the business.

According to the complaint, Evermore Park feared its reputation could be damaged by association with the “explicit” lyrics featured on the record.

But Swift’s lawyers said it was “inconceivable” that there would be any likelihood of confusion between the pop star’s number one album and the Utah fantasy theme park.

In addition, Swift claimed, the park had regularly used her songs ‘Love Story’, You Belong With Me’, and ‘Bad Blood’ in live performances, and ignored notices from Broadcast Music (BMI) that it had to obtain a licence to use the music.

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