Mid-South poet sues Taylor Swift for $1 million over copyright infringement

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Taylor Swift is being sued by poet and author Teresa La Dart of Southaven, who claims Swift stole the design of La Dart’s 2010 book ‘Lover” for the book accompanying Swift’s 2019 album of the same name.

The lawsuit, which alleges Swift violated copyright laws, was filed in The United States District Court in Memphis on Tuesday. One of the allegations La Dart made is that the songstress “a number of creative elements” from her self-published collection of poetry ‘Lover’ was copied by Swift for her own ‘Lover’ book that came with a special edition CD release of the album.

“Lover” (Teresa’s Version) featured a list of poems Le Dart had been writing since she was 14-years-old and was published in 2010. Fast-forward nine years; La Dart couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the 2019 album “Lover” by Taylor Swift as well as a book that accompanied a special edition CD version titled the same.

“It’s the entirety of the book called ‘Lover’-- the whole thing,” La Dart said. “The makeup of the book was taken from me in order to produce her CD.”

When asked if she believed any lyrics from the hit album were lifted from her book of poetry, La Dart said no. She did tell Action News 5 she enjoyed the album, though.

“I liked the songs but for somebody to just take something like that is wrong,” she said. “Nobody is above the law.”

But, for better or worse, she has picked a fight with a formidable foe.

NOTE: Action News 5 reached out to Taylor Swift’s legal team for comment about the lawsuit. As of Sunday, we have not heard back.

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