Swift ‘shakes off’ copyright claim in the US

Categories: America, Copyright Protection, Disputes

Ellis Sweetenham
December 13, 2022

A copyright claim against popstar Taylor Swift has been dismissed by a US judge.

The claim was filed by songwriters Sean Hall and Nate Butler who claimed that lyrics from the smash hit ‘Shake it Off’ had been stolen from their song Playas Gon’ Play.

The claim has always been denied by Swift who stated that the lyrics of the song were completely her own creation and included commonly used phrases.

Despite the claim due to go to trial in January, it has been reported that the two parties have reached an agreement and the case has been dismissed.

It isn’t clear what terms the parties agreed on, but at the moment it doesn’t seem that a writing credit has been granted.

Time will tell if any further information becomes public knowledge.

For any advice on copyright law or your legal protection as an artist, get in touch with the team today.

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Written By:

Ellis Sweetenham

Ellis is a contentious and non-contentious intellectual property (IP) solicitor at Lawdit Solicitors. Ellis also is an the Director and an intellectual property law consultant at Lawdit’s sister company Trademarkroom. Ellis qualified as a solicitor in 2019, and over her qualified years has gained valuable experience in all contentious and non- contentious matters relating to trade marks, copyright, designs and patents. Ellis has represented clients in a variety of matters, including those relating to infringement, licensing, oppositions, cancellations, invalidations, assignment, portfolio management, pre-filing due diligence and registration. This includes matters before the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, UK Intellectual Property Office, EU Intellectual Property Office and Word Intellectual Property Organisation. In addition to IP matters, Ellis is also experienced in other commercial law matters, including music law, defamation, data protection, civil litigation and commercial disputes. Ellis has built a reputation for being detail-focused and thorough, always available to provide clients with the highest level of client care. Ellis acts with the highest level of professionalism to ensure that her clients are well informed and their best interests are at the centre of all advice given and action taken. Ellis is a regular on the Lawdit Solicitors Mark Wing Podcast, and has written many legal articles, both for Lawdit and Trademarkroom’s reading room, as well as for external IP publications. Ellis is based in our Isle of Wight office.