Kimberly Marasco, a Florida artist, accused Taylor Swift and her production company of copyright infringement, claiming that songs and music videos from Swift’s albums were copied from her work without permission or credit. Marasco sought over $7 million in damages in a lawsuit filed in April. Swift was dismissed from the lawsuit by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon after Marasco failed to personally serve Swift with the lawsuit in the allotted time frame. Marasco believes that being a pro se litigant put her at a disadvantage, but she is determined to continue with the lawsuit against Taylor Swift Productions, Inc.
Marasco’s attempts to serve Swift with the lawsuit included visits to Swift’s Nashville home, which led to the discovery that Swift did not live there. Despite efforts to serve Swift, including hiring process servers and requesting alternative methods of service, the court ultimately found Marasco’s efforts to be insufficient. The court extended the service deadline due to Swift’s Eras Tour travels. However, Marasco was unable to meet the final deadline set by the court to serve Swift, leading to the dismissal of the claims against Swift.
Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, mentioned in an email to Newsweek that superstars like Taylor Swift are often involved in copyright lawsuits to protect their valuable music. Being rich and famous makes them targets for lawsuits as well. The case against Taylor Swift Productions, Inc., continues to be active, with a response from the singer’s company due by January 21. Marasco expressed her frustration at the dismissal of Swift from the lawsuit and believes that the defense did not get the case dismissed, only one defendant, so she is determined to continue with the lawsuit as she initially started it.
Marasco had requested alternative methods of serving Swift, such as publishing the notification in a public forum like a newspaper or the court’s website. The court denied this request and ultimately dismissed the claims against Swift when the final deadline for service was not met. Marasco had previously asked for a hearing to discuss motions related to the service of the lawsuit, but this request was also denied by the court. The lawsuit, which alleged that Swift’s works had creative elements copied from Marasco’s work, remains in progress against Taylor Swift Productions, Inc.
The lawsuit filed by Marasco against Taylor Swift and her production company highlighted allegations of copyright infringement in songs and music videos from Swift’s albums. Despite facing challenges in serving Swift with the lawsuit, Marasco continues to pursue legal action against Taylor Swift Productions, Inc. The case raises questions about the difficulties pro se litigants may face in pursuing legal action against high-profile individuals and companies. Marasco’s determination to seek justice for the alleged copyright infringement exemplifies the challenges and complexities involved in intellectual property disputes in the music industry.
