A lawsuit accusing pop superstar Taylor Swift of plagiarizing phrases from a Florida woman’s poetry for over a dozen songs was dismissed by a U.S. federal judge on Monday. The judge, Aileen Cannon, ruled that the plaintiff, Kimberly Marasco, did not demonstrate that her poems were protectable expression or that Swift had access to them and that her songs were substantially similar.
Marasco, who represented herself, disagreed with the decision and plans to appeal. Swift’s lawyers, along with defendants Republic Records and Universal Music Group, did not provide immediate comments on the dismissal.
The allegations against Swift, 36, claimed that details from Marasco’s poetry books were used in songs like “Down Bad” and “I Can Do It with a Broken Heart” from Swift’s 2024 album “The Tortured Poets Department.” However, the judge stated that any similarities between the poems and songs were limited to unprotectable ideas, themes, metaphors, and individual words.
Cannon highlighted examples such as facing adversity, being “gaslighted,” and being “submerged” underwater. This dismissal follows a previous rejection of Marasco’s lawsuit in September, where the judge emphasized that the works were not substantially similar, with the alleged copying characterized as paraphrasing and minor word substitutions.
The dismissal was made with prejudice, preventing Marasco from revising her complaint. Taylor Swift tied the knot with star football player Travis Kelce, also 36, in a private ceremony at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan on July 3.
[Source](https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/swift-poet-plagiarism-lawsuit-9.7261092)