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Taylor Swift sued over claims that Evermore album is being confused with a theme park

By | Published on Thursday 4 February 2021

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift has been sued by a US theme park for trademark infringement. Evermore Park in Utah says that the musician’s latest album, ‘Evermore’, is causing confusion. I know I’m confused. Although mainly about this lawsuit.

Swift, of course, released that album in December, making it her second surprise LP release of 2020. Many rejoiced, but according to Evermore Park’s lawsuit, the arrival of an album using that name was a disaster.

Its management says that people instantly became confused, assuming that there was some connection between the record and the theme park. People also started going to Swift’s website to buy her merch instead of the park’s, they add.

Upon the album release, guests started asking “whether the ‘Evermore’ album was the result of a collaboration between Evermore and Taylor Swift or some other type of relationship”, the lawsuit claims. It adds that traffic to the park’s website has also “experienced a dramatic departure from typical levels”.

The lawsuit then says that Evermore Park is “open to discussing reasonable terms for [Swift’s] discontinuation” of her use of the Evermore trademark. Swift’s lawyers, however, have called the legal action “baseless”, “frivolous” and “irresponsible”.

In a response, her team say: “Your client has suffered no damages whatsoever and, in fact, has openly stated that Ms Swift’s album release creates a ‘marketing opportunity’ for your client’s troubled theme park”. They then add that the “small dragon eggs, guild patches, and a small dragon mount” for sale on the park’s website are in no way similar to merch sold by Swift.

In a statement to reporters, Swift’s legal team also highlight an article in Utah Business last year, detailing the massive debts and several lawsuits faced by the theme park, as a result of unpaid construction bills.

“The fact is”, they say, “this frivolous claim is coming from Ken Bretschneider, founder and CEO of an experience park and, according to Utah Business, ‘as of June 2020, at least five lawsuits have been filed against Bretschneider and the Evermore group by major construction companies like Sunroc, AGC Drywall And Construction, Geneva Rock, Mountain Point Landscaping, EME Mechanical, Kreativ Woodworks, and NFH Distributing'”.

“The companies claim ‘they are owed between $28,000 and $400,000′”, they go on. “Utah Business says, ‘he owes millions of dollars in construction, mechanic, and landscaping fees to workers across the valley who have yet to be paid’ with ‘a collection of more than 20 construction liens on the Evermore property'”.

“The true intent of this lawsuit should be obvious”, they conclude.



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