Taylor Swift has prevailed in a copyright lawsuit filed by a poet.
In an amended complaint filed in February 2025, Kimberly Marasco sued the Opalite hitmaker, Republic Records, and Universal Music Group, among others.
The Florida-based writer accused Swift of copying content from two of her poetry books for multiple songs, including 2019 hit The Man and 2022 track The Great War.
But on Monday, Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that the case was “dismissed with prejudice”, meaning the plaintiff is barred from refiling the lawsuit.
In the decision, Cannon asserted that Swift’s songs and Marasco’s poems shared “basic ideas” and “ubiquitous metaphors” – which are not subject to copyright protection.
“These are quintessential themes, concepts, and isolated words – exactly the kind of material copyright law does not protect,” she declared, according to the filing obtained by Rolling Stone. “None of plaintiff’s twelve counts identifies any protected expression.”
Representatives for Swift have not yet commented on the victory.
However, Marasco indicated that she plans to take further action.
“I disagree with the decision and will be appealing it,” she told multiple outlets.
In a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed last December, Swift’s lawyer called the allegations “absurd and legally baseless”.
The news comes shortly after the music superstar married NFL player Travis Kelce in a lavish ceremony at Madison Square Garden (MSG) in New York City on Friday.
Swift and Kelce, both 36, began dating in summer 2023 and got engaged in August 2025.
