18:09 PST 2/24/2021
by
Claudia Rosenbaum, Billboard
According to the artist’s management of intellectual property, Evermore Park, which sued the singer earlier this month, manages her music without getting the proper licenses.
Taylor Swift’s intellectual property management company is taking action after an impressive fantasy theme park in Pleasant Grove, Utah, filed a lawsuit against the artist earlier this month.
While Evermore Park accuses Swift of using the trademark “Evermore” – the title of Swift’s ninth studio album released on December 11 – a new lawsuit by TAS [Taylor Alison Swift] Legal management is focused on another matter. The company alleges that Evermore Park intentionally used Swift’s songs without the proper licenses before filing a lawsuit.
Swift’s attorneys allege that more than a year before the park filed its lawsuit, TAS was ordered to perform the singer’s songs and play them without the necessary licenses. As early as 2019, BMI, the executive rights organization that protects and collects the revenue for the works, began informing the park that they were infringing Swift’s copyright by playing the songs and providing a contract for lawful use. BMI then sent several letters to the park with a draft license agreement for the songs, requesting that the agreement be signed and returned to BMI’s Nashville location.
Swift’s legal team said park officials ignore BMI’s messages and continue to use the works without proper licenses during performances by the park’s actors’ musicians for visitors. After the park learned of this looming lawsuit, CEO and founder Ken Bretschneider called BMI to buy a retroactive license to cover all public appearances, according to court documents.
Swift’s legal advice comes three weeks after the park sued the singer, TAS and Taylor Nation LLC in federal court in Utah, accusing them of violating the park’s name by using it as her title. Always album and related merchandise. Evermore Park, which presents itself as an impressive experience where artists portray fantasy characters in an interactive world, has argued in court documents that it has been the registered owner of the Evermore trademark since 2015.
Swift’s lawyers have argued that the park’s lawsuit was merely a “deserving trademark claim” and an attempt to enforce a settlement based on Swift’s release of the album Evermore in December 2020.
The park also apparently plays, without licenses, the works of Katy Perry, Abba, The Beatles, Billy Joel, Britney Spears, Green Day, Gotye, Journey, Nirvana, Semisonic, Third Eye Blind, Tom Petty, Queen, Weezer and Whitney. Houston, among others, according to court documents filed by Swift’s legal team.
Swift is asking the court to order that the park pay damages and that he be permanently ordered to play her works. Her team is also demanding a jury trial.
This story first appeared on Billboard.com.