Taylor Swift is counter-suing a small business owner in Long Island who claimed she stole his company name for her gaming app.
Patrick Benot sued Swift last year and accused her of trademark infringement after she launched her app "The Swift Life," which he said derived its name from his company name that includes the phrase "Swiftlife," the New York Post reported.
Swift has responded with her own suit against Benot. In her filing, Swift accused Benot of fraud, demanded his "Swiftlife" trademark be canceled and insisted his suit against her be dismissed. According to court documents, Swift and her lawyers "admit that they do not have a license from Plaintiff, [and] deny that it is necessary or legally required that they do so," the New York Post noted.
In her filing, the popstar noted at the root of the dispute were claims she had infringed on Benot's trademark on the name "Swiftlife." However, the company was actually trading under the name "S.L. Swiftlife Computer Services," giving no basis to the accusations against her, The Blast noted.
Speaking to the Post, Benot denied all of Swift's accusations and claimed she had destroyed his business with her app.
"It's my name, and my name was pretty much taken, and it's gone," he said. "How am I supposed to grow to be a big-name company like Microsoft now that my name is gone?"
Benot's business has allegedly been trading for over a decade, The Daily Caller noted. Meanwhile Swift is shutting down her gaming app.