Utah fantasy theme park Evermore filed a lawsuit against Taylor Swift on Wednesday, alleging trademark infringement over her album of the same name and related merchandise.
In court documents obtained by Rolling Stone, Evermore Park claims that the release of Swift’s Evermore caused “actual confusion,” affecting the park’s online presence negatively, along with infringing on its marketing and merchandise, and impacting its visitors. The suit claims that theme park visitors inquired staff members “whether Evermore Album was the result of a collaboration between Evermore and Taylor Swift or some other type of relationship.”
It also alleges that both Evermore Park and Swift’s Evermore merchandise offer similar products and the court documents include photographs of Evermore Park’s merchandise. The plaintiff additionally claims Swift’s clothing merchandise is counterfeit via Evermore Park’s trademark.
In a letter filed in court responding to a cease-and-desist letter from Evermore Park, Swift’s legal team called the claims “baseless” and stated that Swift had not infringed on the trademark, adding that items that Evermore Park sells, such as small dragon eggs, guild patches, and small dragon mounts are not sold by Swift.
“The fact is, 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 (Beehive Brick and Stone),’” a spokesperson for Swift said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “The companies claim ‘they are owed between $28,000 and $400,000.’ 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.”
The suit seeks “not more than $2 million per counterfeit mark” in connection with trademark infringement on clothing. It also seeks additional damages along with attorney fees and legal costs.
