Taylor Swift, billionaire and pop icon, released her 12th studio album, ‘The Life of a Showgirl‘, in October 2025. After dominating the award season and global charts, the album has found itself in legal trouble. An entertainer from Las Vegas accused the album of alleged trademark infringement.
Maren Flagg, also known professionally as Maren Wade, filed a lawsuit on March 30 naming Swift, Universal Music Group and Bravado International Group Merchandising Services Inc.
What did Maren Wade accuse Taylor Swift of?
The performer from Las Vegas has a trademarked brand titled ‘Confessions of a Showgirl’, which encompasses a live show, touring production, and a newspaper column for Las Vegas Weekly, among other features. She claimed that Taylor Swift’s ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ shares ‘the same overall commercial impression’.
Dominated by orange and red hues, Taylor Swift‘s ‘Showgirl’ era has long been associated with performing, being in the public eye, and more.
As per Flagg’s suit, it accused Swift of adopting the designation ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ and using it since the album’s 2025 release. The album reportedly shared ‘the same structure, the same dominant phrase’ and its commercial aspect.
The complaint further objected to the plethora of merchandise, including labels, tags, and packaging, which overtly displayed several elements from the album. This, according to Flagg, was ‘directed at the same audience Plaintiff had spent years cultivating.’
The race to ‘Showgirl’ trademark
The complaint alleges that the similarity between ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ and ‘Confessions of a Showgirl’ should not have escaped Swift’s notice. “Even a cursory trademark search would have revealed Plaintiff’s federally registered mark and her years of continuous prior use,” read Flagg’s lawsuit.
Interestingly, the complaint claimed that Swift’s team tried to trademark ‘The Life of a Showgirl’, but was reportedly denied by the US Patent and Trademark Office, according to ABC News. In such a situation, the complainant claimed that Swift’s team continued to use the title, despite being made aware of the similarity.
The final demands of Flagg’s complaint include that the billionaire pop star must halt using the phrase ‘Life of a Showgirl’, as well as profits from goods using that phrase, legal fees, and a jury trial.
This comes after Taylor Swift recently released the music video for the song ‘Elizabeth Taylor’, one of the tracks on the album ‘The Life of a Showgirl’.