Just as Taylor Swift began her happily ever after, a major legal win added to her newlywed joy.
On Monday, July 6, PEOPLE reported that the Opalite hitmaker scored a huge victory in court after a federal judge dismissed a copyright lawsuit accusing the singer of copying lyrics and ideas from a Florida self-published poet’s work for several of her hit tracks.
Kimberly Marasco sues Taylor Swift over plagiarism
In May 2024, a Florida-based self-published poet Kimberly Marasco sued Taylor Swift in a copyright infringement lawsuit, alleging that the Blank Space singer copied parts of her poetry for multiple songs released on her albums: Lover, Folklore, Evermore, Midnights, and The Tortured Poets Department.
She asked Swift and her co-defendants for extensive damages and to hand over all profit made from the allegedly infringing songs.
However, the case was later dismissed by a federal judge.
In February 2025, Marasco broadened her original claims to 12 counts of copyright infringements, alleging that the Grammy winner copied lyrics, phrases and poetic expressions from her poetry books and used them in her songs: The Man, My Tears Ricochet, Invisible String, Midnight Rain, The Great War Down Bad, I Can Do It With a Broken Heart, Wo’s Afraid of Little Old Me? and several others.
Taylor Swift wins copyright lawsuit
On Monday, July 6, 2026, Judge Aileen Cannon granted a motion to dismiss the case filed by Kimberly Marasco.
As per court documents, the judge ruled that Marasco’s poems and Swift’s songs shared “basic ideas” like the concept of “gaslighting,” “ubiquitous metaphors” and “common observations,” which were considered generic.
“These are quintessential themes, concepts, and isolated words — exactly the kind of material copyright law does not protect,” stated Cannon.
She also noted that “the allegedly infringed material — basic ideas, themes, metaphors, isolated words, and short phrases — is not protected expression and cannot be infringed.”
In the ruling, Cannon also refused to give Kimberly Marasco a chance to fix and refile her suit, stating, “Plaintiff has had ample opportunity to plead her claims; she was expressly warned that the Second Amended Complaint would be her final opportunity,” adding, “further amendment would be futile.”
“The Court concludes that Plaintiff’s poems do not contain protectable expression and that, regardless, Plaintiff has failed to plausibly plead copying,” the judge concluded.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce wedding
Taylor Swift’s major legal win comes just days after she tied the knot with NFL star Travis Kelce at NYC’s Madison Square Garden on Friday, July 3, 2026.
