A performer who has used the name “Confessions of a Showgirl” for more than a decade is asking a federal judge to temporarily block Taylor Swift from using “The Life of a Showgirl,” arguing it infringes on her trademark and is causing consumer confusion. The request was made during a hearing in Los Angeles, where the performer’s legal team argued that Swift’s album title functions not only as artistic expression but also as a commercial identifier tied to album sales and merchandise such as candles, hairbrushes, and stuffed toys.
The performer, known legally as Maren Flagg, said she began using “Confessions of a Showgirl” in 2014 for a Las Vegas Weekly column about her experiences as a performer and later expanded it into a live show and broader brand, securing a trademark in 2015. Her attorney argued that Swift’s use of a similar phrase has created “reverse confusion,” where the original trademark holder is mistaken for the imitator, calling it an “erasure” of her established brand. The filing also claims the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office previously declined to register Swift’s related trademark due to similarity concerns.
Swift’s legal team countered that the lawsuit overstates any likelihood of confusion and that audiences would not associate the performer’s smaller cabaret-style work with Swift’s global music career. They also argued the timing of the complaint suggests opportunism, saying the performer only objected months after Swift’s album release and after attempting to connect her own work to Swift’s project on social media. The judge did not immediately rule on the request, taking the motion under advisement.
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