Taylor Swift sues New York man, accuses him of fraud: Report
Taylor Swift has “bad blood” with a New York man.
On Tuesday, Swift, 29, filed a countersuit in federal court for the Eastern District of New York against SwiftLife, Inc. of Wantagh, accusing its owner, Patrick Bénot, of committing fraud in obtaining the trademark, according to Newsday.
Bénot, 33, had previously filed a suit in July involving the songstress, alleging that her app, The Swift Life, infringed on his trademark, or wordmark, SwiftLife, which was issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2008, Newsday reported. Now, Swift wants Bénot’s wordmark canceled -- in addition to legal fees repaid.
“I think she’s trying to save her reputation by trying to ruin someone else’s reputation,” Bénot told FOX Business during an interview on Friday.
Neither Swift’s attorney J. Douglas Baldridge nor his spokesperson responded to a request for comment.
Bénot said he incorporated the “SwiftLife” name in 2007 for his software application company. The name, he said, stems from his diagnosis with a terminal illness when he was younger.
“Life is swift,” he said.
Now, he receives mail and government services under the same name.
“For them to try to stop the lawsuit that’s going, there’s some liability on their side. They’re trying to cut the root and see if they can stop the whole thing. But I have SwiftLife. I have clients over 10 years that will attest to I am SwiftLife. That’s my company’s name.”
SwiftLife is no longer available to download.