A lawsuit alleging that Taylor Swift, a popular singer who recently got married, plagiarized phrases from a Florida woman’s poems for multiple songs was dismissed by a U.S. federal judge on Monday. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that the plaintiff, Kimberly Marasco, did not demonstrate that her poems were protectable expressions or that Swift had access to the poems and that the songs were substantially similar to an average person.
Marasco, who represented herself, disagreed with the decision and plans to appeal. Legal representatives for Swift, Republic Records, and Universal Music Group did not provide immediate comments on the matter. The lawsuit claimed that Swift, 36, copied elements from Marasco’s poetry books for songs like “Down Bad” and “I Can Do It with a Broken Heart” from Swift’s 2024 album titled “The Tortured Poets Department.”
However, the judge stated that any similarities between Marasco’s poems and Swift’s songs were limited to unprotectable ideas, themes, metaphors, and isolated words. Cannon highlighted examples such as facing challenges, being “gaslighted,” and feeling “submerged” underwater.
This dismissal with prejudice indicates that Marasco cannot revise her complaint. Swift wed Travis Kelce, also 36 and a prominent football player, at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan on July 3. The judge had previously dismissed an earlier version of Marasco’s lawsuit last September, pointing out that the works were not substantially similar as alleged by the plaintiff.