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LIGHTING THE LIT FUSE

• Florida artist Kimberly Marasco launches a new legal salvo, accusing Taylor Swift and top collaborators of pilfering her poetry for multiple hit songs.
• The lawsuit expands to name Jack Antonoff, Aaron Dessner, Universal Music Group, and Republic Records, raising the stakes in an already fiery copyright battle.
• With a prior case tossed for procedural missteps, Marasco is back—this time demanding $25 million and zeroing in on lyrics, choreography, and creative content.

By Samuel Lopez – USA Herald

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MIAMI, FL – In what could be one of the most closely watched copyright showdowns of 2025, Taylor Swift is once again the center of a legal storm. Florida-based poet and self-described author Kimberly Marasco has filed a fresh federal lawsuit in the Southern District of Florida, alleging that Swift, along with her collaborators and music labels, copied substantial portions of Marasco’s poetry for multiple high-profile songs.

Filed on February 28, 2025, under case number 2:2025cv14067, the complaint accuses Swift of using original copyrighted material—both lyrical and thematic—and turning it into chart-topping music without authorization or compensation. Marasco, representing herself in the case, is demanding $25 million in damages under the U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 501.

Presiding over the lawsuit is U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez. Also named as defendants are acclaimed producers Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, along with music industry giants Universal Music Group, Inc., and Republic Records.

“What makes this lawsuit unique is not just the celebrity name at the center—but the broader implications for intellectual property rights in music,” – Samuel Lopez, USA Herald.

BACK WITH A VENGEANCE

This isn’t Marasco’s first rodeo. In April 2024, she filed an earlier suit against Swift, which was ultimately dismissed by Judge Aileen Cannon for failure to properly serve the complaint. That case also named Swift’s production company, Taylor Swift Productions, Inc., which is not included in the newly filed action.

In her new lawsuit, Marasco escalates her claims—now implicating additional songs like Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me? and I Can Do It With a Broken Heart from Swift’s latest album The Tortured Poets Department. She also revives allegations related to The Man (from Lover) and Midnight Rain (from Midnights).

THE CO-WRITERS IN THE CROSSFIRE

Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, two of Swift’s most prolific collaborators, are directly implicated. According to the complaint, their songwriting contributions helped shape songs that allegedly mirror Marasco’s original poems and themes. Antonoff co-wrote Illicit Affairs and Down Bad, while Dessner’s credits include Hoax and Death by a Thousand Cuts.

Marasco alleges a “pattern of unauthorized use” and claims that the songs contain “identifiable lines and motifs”derived from her unpublished and self-published poetry. Exhibits attached to the complaint reportedly attempt to draw lyrical comparisons between her work and the chart-toppers.

Although choreographic similarities are also alleged, those elements remain harder to litigate without video evidence or expert analysis, which may be pivotal should the case proceed to discovery or trial.