Entertainment

Las Vegas Showgirl Says Taylor Swift Stole Her Brand — And the Trademark Office Agreed

By Erica Coleman · April 27, 2026

The US Patent and Trademark Office already told Taylor Swift’s team the name was too similar to someone else’s. Swift’s team used it anyway. Now there’s a federal lawsuit.

Maren Wade — a Las Vegas performer and cabaret artist who has built her brand around “Confessions of a Showgirl” since 2014 — filed a federal trademark infringement lawsuit in US District Court in Los Angeles on March 30 against Taylor Swift, UMG Recordings, and affiliated companies. The complaint alleges that Swift’s use of “The Life of a Showgirl” — as both the title of her latest album and across a line of merchandise including candles, drinkware, and accessories — infringes on Wade’s federally registered trademark and undermines the career she has spent more than a decade building.

Wade’s “Confessions of a Showgirl” trademark is not a casual claim. She registered it with the US Patent and Trademark Office in 2015. It achieved “incontestable” status — a legal designation that means the owner’s exclusive right to use the mark is no longer subject to most challenges — after she consistently used it for five years. Her brand encompasses a column she wrote for Las Vegas Weekly, a live touring show, a book, and other media that have all operated under that name since 2014.

The core allegation in the lawsuit is that Swift’s team knew about Wade’s trademark — because the USPTO told them. According to the complaint, the Patent and Trademark Office rejected Swift’s application to register “The Life of a Showgirl” in November 2025, specifically citing the likelihood of consumer confusion with Wade’s existing mark. Swift’s team continued using the name anyway, expanding it through retail channels and brand collaborations.

“They continued using it anyway, expanding it across a coordinated commercial program and distributing it through retail channels reaching millions of consumers,” the lawsuit states. “Maren was never contacted.”

Wade’s attorney Jaymie Parkkinen framed the case in terms that are likely to resonate beyond the legal filing.

“Maren spent more than a decade building Confessions of a Showgirl. She registered it. She earned it. When Taylor Swift’s team applied to register The Life of a Showgirl, the Trademark Office refused, finding Swift’s mark confusingly similar.”

Wade is seeking unspecified damages for harm to her business, reputation, and professional identity, as well as a court order preventing Swift from continuing to use the title. The lawsuit notes that Swift’s commercial success “does not depend on the continued use of any single designation” — while for Wade, the Confessions of a Showgirl trademark is the foundation of her entire professional identity.

Swift and UMG have not publicly responded to the lawsuit. The case is in its early stages, with a judge yet to determine whether it will proceed to trial. If it does, the outcome could set a meaningful precedent for how courts evaluate trademark claims when a major artist’s team has been explicitly warned by a federal agency about an existing mark — and chose to proceed regardless.