AceShowbiz -A computer company owner who took Taylor Swift to court over the name of her now-defunct app is seeking to have her countersuit dismissed.
The “Shake It Off” hitmaker was slapped with legal papers last year (18) by New York businessman Patrick Lloyd Yves Benot, who alleged the name of her Swift Life app, launched in December, 2017, was too similar to that of his firm, SwiftLife.
Taylor tried to have the trademark infringement case thrown out of court, but her motion was denied in January.
She subsequently fired back at Benot with a countersuit, accusing him of fraud and arguing that he had apparently lied to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) bosses about the merits of his case, as he was actually operating under S.L. Swiftlife Computer Services – and therefore her app name wouldn’t cause confusion among potential clients.
The musician, who shut down her app in early February, is demanding his trademark registration be cancelled and for Benot to cover her legal bills.
However, Benot is challenging Swift’s reasoning for filing suit against him, insisting she has yet to prove that she suffered any damages as a result of his trademark.
In court papers obtained by The Blast, he writes: “To the contrary, Defendants have not been damaged at all. Defendants were undeterred in their wrongful use of Plaintiff’s mark despite Plaintiff’s exclusive rights to the mark and the USPTO specifically informing Defendants of the likelihood of confusion their infringing use would cause.”
He adds, “Even though Defendants have shut down their infringing App and do not otherwise appear to be wrongfully using or attempting to use Plaintiff’s mark ‘SWIFTLIFE’ in any manner, Defendants filed counterclaims seeking cancellation of Plaintiff’s trademark, alleging that Plaintiff committed fraud on the USPTO.”
Benot is demanding the countersuit be shut down.
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