Taylor Swift‘s lawyers responded to a lawsuit that claimed the singer stole the designs she used for her 2019 Lover era.
As previously reported, author Teresa La Dart filed the complaint in August with the Tennessee federal court and accused Taylor of stealing “a number of creative elements” from her 2010 self-published book, also titled Lover. She claimed her copyright was infringed because her 2010 work featured “pastel pinks and blues” and depicted herself “photographed in a downward pose” — among other things.
Taylor’s team has responded to the complaint and, according to Billboard, is petitioning the court to toss it. The singer’s attorney, Doug Baldridge, wrote in the response, “This is a lawsuit that never should have been filed.” The attorney also called La Dart’s complaint “legally and factually baseless.”
Taylor’s legal team further argued the elements Taylor used for her Lover era, including a book that featured memories of the singer crafting her album via written and pictorial vignettes, are commonplace. “These allegedly-infringing elements, each a generic design format, are not subject to copyright protection. … Thus, defendants could not possibly have infringed plaintiff’s copyright,” Baldridge wrote.
The attorney also feels the two works are more dissimilar, arguing, “When compared, it is undeniable that the book formats and inner book designs are not similar in the slightest.”
Furthermore, Taylor’s legal team argued that it was unlikely the singer saw La Dart’s book before making Lover.
A decision has yet to be made on the case.
Litigator Aaron Moss previously predicted to the outlet the case is unlikely to succeed. He had said, “The idea of memorializing a series of recollections over a number of years by interspersing ‘written and pictorial components’ isn’t protectable … This lawsuit should be thrown out on a motion to dismiss.”
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