Taylor Swift has been accused of copying her "Lover" book design from a lesser-known author.
A new lawsuit, a copy of which was obtained by a news outlet, revealed that Swift allegedly copied Teresa La Dart's published and copyrighted 2010 book, "Lover."
Swift released her own book of the same name in 2019 alongside her "Lover" album.
The author herself filed the lawsuit in Tennessee federal court and insisted on the similarities between her 10-year-old book, claiming that the singer only made a carbon copy of it.
La Dart's lawyer, attorney William S. Parks, wrote that Swift owes the author an "excess of one million dollars" in damages due to the rip-off.
The attorney said, "The defendants to this day have 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."
They also listed the similarities, as quoted by Billboard (via Commercial Appeal), which include the pastel pink and blue design. Both books reportedly have an image of the author "in a downward pose."
Per La Dart, the singer recklessly copied even the book's format and its internal design.
Swift and her team have not responded to the claims yet. But experts have since predicted that the lawsuit would not be successful.
Taylor Swift Lawsuit: Why It Won't Be Successful
Following the filing, a veteran litigator explained why La Dart's lawsuit would not be successful at all.
On the Copyright Lately website, Aaron Moss said that the author is not claiming any exact similar content.
He added that "memorializing a series of recollections" is not protectable. If it is unlawful, people who write diaries and create scrapbooks might be sued, as well.
Per Moss, while Swift and La Dart's books are identical, the copyright law does not protect their titles at all. In fact, the name "Lover" is also far from being a copyrighted title since the U.S. Copyright Office estimates over dozens of books have the same title.
The new lawsuit came after Swift responded to the "Shake It Off" plagiarism lawsuit. The "Look What You Made Me Do" hitmaker said she had never heard of "Playas Gon' Play" until she was made about the alleged rip-off through the legal action.
She added that the phrase "haters gonna hate" was common enough that she once wore a T-shirt showing that text at a 2013 concert.
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