Taylor Swift sued for trademark infringement by Utah theme park over ‘evermore’ album

March 25 note: A month after Taylor Swift countersued Evermore Park, both parties have dropped their respective lawsuits, court records show.

Feb. 3 story:

Owners of a fantasy theme park in Utah have sued singer Taylor Swift over the title of her most recent album — “evermore.”

Evermore Park in Pleasant Grove, Utah, alleges in a December lawsuit it has trademarks over the “Evermore” name. Developing and promoting the “Evermore” trademark cost the theme park nearly $1 million, the owners allege in the lawsuit.

Swift’s album was released in December and sold a million copies worldwide in its first week, Variety reported.

Swift’s attorney has disagreed with the park’s claims. Her attorney said the trademark infringement allegations are “baseless” and the trademarks Swift and the park have are different.

“Put simply, the Swift parties have not infringed your client’s trademark, and it is inconceivable that there is any likelihood of confusion between your client’s theme park and related products and Ms. Swift’s music and related products,” Swift’s attorney, J. Douglas Baldridge, said in a letter.

Items branded with Swift’s newest album on her website “are counterfeit goods” because they use trademarked material, according to the park’s lawsuit.

But the merchandise Swift sells on her website is much different than what the theme park sells, Swift’s attorney said in a response.

“Ms. Swift’s website does not sell small dragon eggs, guild patches, or small dragon mounts, and nothing could be remotely characterized as such,” Baldridge said.

The park describes itself as “a world of play for all ages, immersed in a fantasy European hamlet of imagination.” It is about 35 miles from Salt Lake City.

In January, Evermore Park CEO Ken Bretschneider said the COVID-19 pandemic made 2020 “a very hard year” and it “had to deal with real financial issues.”

Evermore Park said there has been confusion over Swift’s album, as some guests believe there was a collaboration between the two. The album release also led to search results on Google weakening for the park, the lawsuit said

“Evermore (Park) will incur additional marketing and promotional costs as it strives to compete with the torrent of information related to the Evermore Album and Taylor Swift,” the lawsuit said.

Swift’s attorney argued the park’s website traffic “has actually increased” after Swift’s album release. The attorney considered the matter “resolved” in late December, but the court battle continued.

He further stated in January the allegations against Swift “are frivolous and irresponsible.”

The park sent a cease and desist letter to Swift, but there is no indication the singer will change any of the phrasing or marketing of her album.

This story was originally published February 3, 2021 at 10:10 AM with the headline "Taylor Swift sued for trademark infringement by Utah theme park over ‘evermore’ album."