A self-published Florida poet, Kimberly Marasco, has filed a swift appeal after her copyright lawsuit accusing Taylor Swift of stealing her words was dismissed earlier this week. Judge Aileen Cannon threw out the case on Monday (6 July), ruling that the only similarities between Marasco's poems and Swift's songs were generic words and ideas that copyright law does not protect; less than two days later, on Tuesday (7 July), Marasco filed notice that she would ask a federal appeals court to overturn the decision. The move prolongs a legal battle against the pop star that has already run for more than two years.

Marasco first sued Swift's company, Taylor Swift Productions, in 2024, alleging the star had lifted lyrics for songs including "The Man," "My Tears Ricochet" and "Illicit Affairs" from her earlier poems, before filing a second case against Swift herself over largely the same claims. Both have now been dismissed, with Judge Cannon writing that the overlaps amounted to "basic ideas," such as the concept of "gaslighting," alongside "ubiquitous metaphors" and "common observations" that cannot be infringed. Swift's attorneys have branded the lawsuits "absurd" and "harassing," and such appeals typically face long odds, especially where a court has said the case was not a close call. A representative for Swift did not immediately respond to a request for comment.