Taylor Swift hits back in Shake it Off copyright trial

Categories: Copyright Protection, Disputes

Ellis Sweetenham
August 15, 2022

The most recent popstar to have been hit with a copyright claim, Taylor Swift has been under fire to the lyrics in ‘Shake it Off’. The girl group 3LW claim the lyrics have been taken from their song ‘Playas Gon’ Play’ released in 2000.

The claim was initially filed in 2017 and this week, Swift filed a declaration with the court in which she states the lyrics were 100% her own work and she had not heard of the band or heard the song she is alleged to have copied.

Taylor’s declaration has been filed in line with an appeal, after the initial claim was dismissed for lacking legal basis. The appeal was filed in 2021 and managed to survive an attempt by Swift to have it dismissed.

Both sides continue to argue over the similarity of the lyrics, and also if Swift would have been aware of the 3LW song, which was released when she was 10 years old. Even Taylor’s mother has filed a statement to provide context to the music the pop star was exposed to during her childhood.

The matter will continue to rumble on so please do check back for further updates.

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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.