Taylor Swift Is Countersuing A Theme Park Called “Evermore” After They Sued Her For Trademark Infringement

If I could go back in time to change one thing I would answer the question “what do you want to be when you grow up?” very differently. Instead of saying “I want to be a person who writes poop jokes on the internet, whatever that turns out to be” I’d say “I want to be Taylor Swift’s lawyer” because if I did, I’d be rolling in cash instead of sitting here writing poop jokes on the internet which, sorry to say, turned out to be a huge mistake. Taylor Swift is being sued again, this time for trademark infringement by a theme park in Utah called Evermore, the same name Taylor used for her recent cottagecore themed album. Now Taylor is counter-suing the park for playing her music over the loudspeakers “without authorization or license agreement.” So, no more pooping to Bad Blood in the bathrooms of Evermore. The only winners here are Taylor’s lawyers and the Big Fairy Lights industry.

Pitchfork reports that earlier this month, Taylor was slapped with a lawsuit seeking “millions in damages, plus all legal fees” by the park which claims her album’s release “confused guests and negatively affected the park’s searchability on Google.” They also claim Taylor’s Evermore “infringes on the park’s merchandise designs and album covers for their original soundtracks.”

The lawsuit was filed February 2 in a U.S. District Court in Utah. It claims that following the announcement of evermore’s release (which occurred on December 10, 2020), guests began asking “whether the Evermore Album was the result of a collaboration between Evermore and Taylor Swift or some other type of relationship,” as the park’s director of human resources said in court documents. The suit also includes photographs of park merchandise, the trademark of which has allegedly been infringed upon by Swift.

Oh, Evermore Park, you sweet summer child. They are lucky Game of Thrones isn’t suing them for cheapening dragon-lore. Now, instead of just answering those pesky questions by saying, “who can say, you never know when Taylor might show up at the llama petting zoo in Loundon’s Rest or grabbing an order of our famous deep-fried gnocchi tots to-go from Vander’s Keep” and raking in the dough, they are facing a countersuit telling them they can’t play Love Story during the Wings of Evermore bird and reptile show. According to Pitchfork:

According to court documents viewed by Pitchfork, the counter-suit claims that Evermore Park routinely played Taylor Swift’s music on its grounds “without authorization or license agreement.”

The docket includes two letters from BMI (the performance rights organization) to Evermore Park, from August and September 2019. Both letters inform Evermore Park of the copyrighted nature of music use. “In the past, letters have been mailed to your attention along with licenses reflecting your music usage fee of $1,728.67 for the period of May, 2019 to December, 2019 only,” one letter states. “This fee does not include all other unlicensed periods in which you were using music.” The lawsuit specifically references the park’s use of Swift’s songs “Love Story,” “You Belong With Me,” and “Bad Blood.”

TAS’ suit claims that starting in 2019, BMI repeatedly tried to reach out to Evermore Park via phone calls, emails, and letters, but TAS’ lawyers claim that the amusement park responded only after they learned that TAS’ countersuit was imminent.

In response to the original suit filed by Evermore Park, a spokesperson for Taylor contended that the park (which opened in 2018) is in deep financial doo-doo, claiming that “as of June 2020, at least five lawsuits have been filed against Bretschneider and the Evermore group by major construction companies” and that they owe “millions of dollars in construction, mechanic, and landscaping fees to workers across the valley who have yet to be paid.” There aren’t even any rides at Evermore! So if my business model was Year-Round Ren-Fair But Make It Magic, I’d be thrilled if Taylor Swift dropped an album with the same name in the middle of a pandemic.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CFvSFF5B7Fw/

Pic: Wenn.com