Curtain Up, Rights Reserved

Taylor Swift's 12th studio album “The Life of a Showgirl” was released last Friday, and it has already broken records: 3.5m units have been sold in the US.  In the UK, the new record reached UK's biggest opening week of the year, with over 300,000 copies sold. 

As always, Taylor wrote all the songs on the album, collaborating with Swedish legends Max Martin (famous for hits like Britney Spears’ “…Baby One More Time”) and Shellback (the producer behind many tracks on Taylor’s Reputation album).

Taylor and her team have proven time and again that they are IP-savvy: I noticed they filed a US trade mark application on 11 August for THE LIFE OF A SHOWGIRL (word mark) covering a wide range of goods and services, such as music sound and video recordings; jewellery; stationery items; bags; clothing; toys; and entertainment services. 

Why does Taylor need protection for so many items she may never personally offer? The answer: so she can control and decide who is authorised to use THE LIFE OF A SHOWGIRL on merchandise. 

Interestingly, she also filed a new US trade mark application for REPUTATION TAYLOR’S VERSION on 15 August. Her previous application for this mark from a few years ago did not progress to registration in the US because no Statement of Use was filed on time (a local requirement). In a recent announcement, Taylor suggested she would not re-record Reputation since she bought back the masters for this and her other early albums earlier this year. 

Swifties like me are now scratching their heads: will Taylor make a U-turn and release Reputation (Taylor’s Version) after all? Here's hoping! 

Yes, I’ll find any excuse to talk about Taylor Swift. Even her trade marks. This is the life of a Trade Mark Girl, I guess. And as Taylor said in a recent interview: “If it’s the first week of my album release and you are saying either my name or my album title, you’re helping.” You’re welcome, TayTay!

Taylor Swift’s divisive new album, The Life of a Showgirl, has beaten Adele’s record-breaking 25 in first week sales numbers.

www.theguardian.com/...