Report: Taylor Swift's rights company files countersuit against Utah theme park

(KUTV) — The company that handles the rights for Taylor Swift’s music and other trademarks is suing Utah’s Evermore theme park after the founder sued the singer for trademark infringement.

Rolling Stone reports TSA Rights Management filed the lawsuit this week, claiming Evermore park repeatedly ignored messages from BMI, the performance rights organization, regarding the matter and allegedly used three songs without proper licenses.

The suit said Evermore “blatantly ignored the numerous notices from BMI and opted instead to continue to benefit from the free and unauthorized public performance of [the songs], despite actual knowledge of the liability and substantial penalties imposed by the Copyright Act to protect artists.”

It suggests the theme park and CEO Ken Bretschneider only reached out to BMI “seeking a retroactive license that would cover all performances” from 2018 through 2021 after they learned TAS was going to file a countersuit, Rolling Stone reports.

In his lawsuit, Evermore founder Bretschneider claimed Swift is using a brand he's spent millions of dollars building on her new album, titled "Evermore."

The themed event and experience park opened three years ago in Pleasant Grove, Utah.

Attorneys for Swift responded to Bretschneider’s lawyers in previous correspondence arguing “there is no basis for your client's claim the use of 'evermore' infringes any trademark rights it may have."

A spokesperson for Swift previously told 2News "the true intent of this lawsuit should be obvious," citing Utah Business' reporting that the park faces "financial ruin" and owes millions of dollars to contractors who constructed the park.

2News reporter and anchor Jim Spiewak contributed to this report.