Taylor Swift Battles Both China And ‘Lucky 13’ Clothing Line Over Trademark Issues
In an ironic turn of events, Taylor Swift – the singer who has sued her own fans after she trademarked her catchy phrases like “this sick beat” – has been ordered to testify in court for infringing upon Lucky 13’s registered trademark. The “Bad Blood” singer is also in a fight with China over her clothing line.
It was recently revealed that Swift was launching her own clothing line in China to stop sales of counterfeit merchandise, which is notorious in the country. Some of the items in the 25-year-old singer’s clothing will include T-Shirts and sweatshirts that feature the “T.S. 1989,” which are her initials and birth year.
According to China, the initials “T.S.” represent Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, the landmark where protests were violently stopped on June 4, 1989. According to a recent report via Reuters, hundreds of protestors were killed on this tragic day. However, Taylor Swift’s merchandise was removed on several Chinese ecommerce sites and social media sites, which previously displayed the merchandise.
In addition, Swift’s merchandise no longer displays the “T.S. 1989” logo. It hasn’t been confirmed whether it was Swift’s team or another person who removed the products or removed the logos from the merchandise.
Meanwhile, a judge has ordered the singer to testify under oath in the Lucky 13 trademark infringement lawsuit, as previously reported via the Inquisitr. Both the judge and the lawyers have also shot down requests by Swift’s lawyer to screen questions during the hearing.
It was last year when the Grammy-winning recording artist was sued by the Orange County-based clothing company. According to the lawsuit, which was filed on May, 2014, Lucky 13 accused Swift of trademark infringement from the time when she launched T-Shirts and cards with a similar Lucky 13 and shamrock logo.
The street wear apparel company was founded in 1991. They told E! News that they contacted Taylor’s team numerous times and received no response or resolution to the lawsuit. Lucky 13 also asked Taylor’s team to share partially nude photos to prove that she’s been sexualizing the brand name.
But Swift’s team claims that the apparel company is just “harassing” the singer.
“The owner of Lucky 13 wants to harass Taylor into a settlement by forcing her into a deposition knowing full well the disruption it would cause given her ongoing world tour. Lucky 13 does not have any evidence that Taylor was involved in the design of this t-shirt that was a limited-run only for St. Patrick’s Day or the sweepstakes that was a onetime event. Her lack of involvement with anything truly relevant to this lawsuit is apparent.”
The country-turned-pop singer has mentioned to MTV News that the number 13 has brought her luck, until recently, of course.
“The significance of the number 13 on my hand…I paint this on my hand before every show because 13 is my lucky number—for a lot of reasons. It’s really weird.
“I was born on the 13th. I turned 13 on Friday the 13th. My first album went gold in 13 weeks. My first No. 1 song had a 13-second intro. Every time I’ve won an award I’ve been seated in either the 13th seat, the 13th row, the 13th section or row M, which is the 13th letter. Basically whenever a 13 comes up in my life, it’s a good thing.”
It looks like Swift’s running out of luck lately. Not only is she getting bashed by the media, but she’s also getting hit with trademark infringement issues left and right. Do you believe that Swift will win this recent court battle? Share your thoughts below in the comments section.
[Image: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for TAS]