A Florida artist is seeking $7 million in damages from Taylor Swift Productions, alleging copyright infringement in the hit albums Lover, Folklore, and Evermore. The claims emerged after she attended the singer's Eras Tour in 2024.
An artist from Florida named Kimberly Marasco sued Swift and her production business last year for copyright violation. She claims that Swift's music videos and songs include "creative components" that plagiarize her work without her permission or acknowledgment.
The amount of damages that she is claiming is greater than $7 million.
The case's presiding judge, Aileen Cannon, removed Swift from the complaint without prejudice last month due to Marasco's late service of process. The decision gives Marasco the green light to sue Swift again down the road.
Taylor Swift Productions, Inc., the singer's production firm, has not yet had the claims dismissed.
On Tuesday, attorneys for Taylor Swift Productions moved to dismiss the case, citing the statute of limitations as the reason that over half of the claims are "time-barred" from consideration.
A plaintiff has three years from the date of discovery of the alleged infringement to initiate a claim for copyright infringement. According to Aaron S. Blynn and Katherine Wright Morrone, Marasco was limited to pursuing claims that she became aware of after April 2021, as the complaint was filed in April 2024.
Lover, Folklore, and Evermore-all albums published prior to 2021-are mentioned in Marasco's complaint.
Marasco stated in her Friday response that she listened exclusively to alternative rock and had never purchased an album by Swift.
Marasco argued that she did not know the exact phrases that Taylor Swift sang the moment she recorded her albums, despite the fact that Swift is a very famous singer.
Seeing Swift perform on the Eras Tour in 2024 sparked Marasco's interest in finding musical parallels in her own work, she said.
Based on her reaction, she went back to her older albums to check other tracks since there were so many found, and that's when she discovered the infringement.
Since Marasco's albums "have been enormously popular both nationally and abroad," receive extensive media coverage upon their release, and are accessible on streaming services, Blynn and Wright Morrone argued that Marasco should have known about the purported copyright infringement.
Lawyers Aaron S. Blynn and Katherine Wright Morrone said in their request to drop the case: "In sum, Plaintiff's claims remain entirely unfounded, and her 'final opportunity' to state a claim fails. At this juncture, dismissal with prejudice is required."
In her response, Kimberly Marasco stated, "The Plaintiff may not be a well-known national author, but she created works that were unique, not borrowed from anywhere else, and went to lengths to ensure they would be protected in hopes she would be afforded the same protection as everyone else, no matter how known or unknown they are."
Marasco proposed a meeting of the relevant parties in order to facilitate a settlement. She has stated her intention to appeal or refile the action in the event that it is dismissed due to Swift's dismissal and the court determines that Taylor Swift Productions is not involved.
