Taylor Swift scored a legal victory after a federal judge dismissed a copyright lawsuit over her song lyrics. Self-published poet Kimberly Marasco had claimed that several of Swift’s lyrics copied parts of her poems. However, the court ruled in Swift’s favor and closed the case.
A federal judge permanently throws out a self-published poet’s claims that Taylor Swift plagiarized verses
On July 6, U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon issued the ruling. According to Variety, the judge found that Marasco’s claims relied on basic concepts, themes, metaphors, and short phrases, which are not protected under copyright law. The court also found that Marasco failed to show Swift had access to her poems or that the two works shared sufficient similarities to support a copyright infringement claim. As a result, the court dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice.
Variety also noted that Marasco acknowledged many of the alleged similarities amounted to paraphrasing, rewording, or minor word substitutions. The judge found that such claims were insufficient to establish the substantial similarity required for copyright infringement.
Among several examples cited in the lawsuit, Marasco compared Taylor Swift’s song “The Man” with her poem “Ordinary Citizen.” However, the judge concluded that the idea of a woman facing challenges in a corporate workplace is not protected by copyright law. Marasco had also previously filed a similar lawsuit against Swift based on comparable claims. The court determined that the dispute centered on unprotected ideas rather than original expression, marking Swift’s latest legal victory in the dispute.
Swift’s legal team had asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit months earlier. Attorney Douglas Baldridge argued that the case lacked legal merit and repeated allegations from Marasco’s earlier filing. The ruling came just a few days after Swift’s reported wedding to Travis Kelce, adding another headline to an eventful week for the singer.
TELL US – WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE COURT’S DECISION IN THE TAYLOR SWIFT COPYRIGHT LAWSUIT?
