Singer Taylor Swift is already being sued for allegedly stealing the lyrics to her 2014 hit single “Shake It Off” – and now she is in a bit more legal hot water.
The “Love Story” singer is being sued yet again, not for her lyrics, but for a companion book that she released along with her “Lover” album. As it turns out, a woman named Teresa La Dart already wrote a book called “Lover,” in 2010, and she claims that Taylor’s 2019 book of the same name is a direct rip-off of her work.
Author Claims Taylor Swift Ripped Off Her ‘Lover’ Book… And Is Suing For Over A Million Dollars!
Fans remember Taylor Swift’s “Lover” era “All Too Well.” After all, her seventh studio album was a far cry from her 2017 “Reputation” album, which marked her experimentation with electropop and dark trap. Her 2019 “Lover” album took a sharp left turn into a world dominated by bright colors, a dream pop sound, and a dreamy visual aesthetic.
However, author Teresa La Dart claims that the “I Bet You Think About Me” singer wasn’t able to come up with that aesthetic all on her own. In court documents obtained by The Blast, La Dart claims that Taylor stole the overall design and theme of the book in a new lawsuit filed on Tuesday. It should be noted that La Dart isn’t actually claiming that Taylor’s album or songs were lifted from her work; she’s just suing for the companion book that came along with the album.
La Dart’s book contains poems, anecdotes, and photographs, just like Taylor’s book does. She claims that her book, which was released over a decade ago, was widely available for purchase and believes that either Taylor or someone on her team saw it and tried to pass it off as her own original work.
The complaint states that neither Taylor nor her team “to this day has neither sought, nor obtained, a license from TLD of her creative design element rights, nor have they given any credit to TLD … let alone provided any monetary payments.”
Author Claims That Taylor Swift Stole Her Book’s General Concept
According to the lawsuit, La Dart claims that the “Wildest Dreams” singer stole the general concept of her book, which she describes as a “recollection of past years memorialized in a combination of written and pictorial components.”
In addition, she also says that the style of photographs Taylor Swift used in the book, like the old polaroid look, is directly lifted from her own work. She also says that the style of photos on the cover and foreword are the same as hers, such as being photographed in a “downward pose.” In the court documents, La Dart also claims that the blue and pink pastel color scheme is basically the same in both books as well.
In the court documents, La Dart claims, “As a direct and/or proximate result of the Defendants’ wrongful conduct, the Plaintiff has been irreparably harmed, suffered damage, and Defendants have profited in an amount in the amount to be determined at trial.” She also alleges that “By virtue of this unauthorized commercial exploitation, Defendants have realized illegal revenues.”
Since Taylor’s book has sold almost three million copies in the United States alone, La Dart is seeking over one million dollars in damages and asking Taylor to cover her attorneys’ fees. La Dart is also requesting a jury trial to decide whether or not Taylor stole the design from her book, but it remains to be seen how Taylor’s team will respond.
The “Cruel Summer” singer has yet to publicly comment on the lawsuit.
Attorney Says That The Author’s Lawsuit Should Be ‘Thrown Out’
Aaron Moss, a veteran litigator at the firm Greenberg Gluster, told Billboard that, in his professional opinion, the author’s lawsuit against the “Delicate” singer should be thrown out.
“As far as I can tell, [La Dart] isn’t claiming that any of the actual content is similar,” Moss said. “The idea of memorializing a series of recollections over a number of years by interspersing ‘written and pictorial components’ isn’t protectable.”
“If it were, this person might as well sue anyone who’s ever written a diary or made a scrapbook,” he continued, adding, “This lawsuit should be thrown out on a motion to dismiss if the plaintiff’s lawyer doesn’t think better of it and voluntarily withdraw the complaint first.”
Although the titles of both books are identical, they are far from original. According to the United States Copyright Office, more than a dozen books also share the “Lover” title.
