Taylor Swift recently applied to trademark several phrases from her songs. In doing so, she is breaking new ground in testing the limits of the law.
It is becoming very common for recording artists and performers to think of themselves as their own personal corporations and brands. Because of peer-to-peer file sharing systems, beginning with Napster back in 1999, revenues from recorded music are down. For performers these days, the real money is made in concerts and merchandise.
If Swift does indeed secure the trademark rights to her phrases, it would prevent the unauthorized use of those phrases in products including cosmetics, fragrances, soap, sun care products, bleaching preparations, and more. Christopher Jon Sprigman, law professor at New York University’s School of Law, sees Swift’s actions as a smart move. “She both has an interest in protecting what she views as her intellectual assets, which she thinks are some of these lyrics … and she does ultimately hope to be able to use some of these on various products, goods and services.”
Others feel that Swift is walking a fine line between protecting her “brand” and ruining her reputation. As R. Polk Wagner, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, points out, “She has to walk a careful line between being an aggressive brander, promotor, and builder of the Taylor Swift brand and crossing that line into aggressively suing her fans and customers.” Wagner also explains that while she may be granted the trademarks, there is no guarantee that the trademarks will be enforceable in court. He compares obtaining trademark rights to obtaining a hunting license, stating, “It doesn’t give you anything unless you pursue it.”
Read the original article here. There is a link at the top for listening to it as a podcast.