Taylor Swift, Mad With Power, Tries To Trademark An Entire Year

If you’re inclined to think of Taylor Swift as a cynical commercialist, this latest news will not change your mind. Swift, on December 3, applied to trademark five phrases — "Swiftmas," "Blank Space," "And I'll Write Your Name," "A Girl Named Girl" and "1989" — commonly associated with her or her music. For background, A Girl Named Girl is the name of an unpublished novel Swift wrote when she was 15 and “Swiftmas” is what I’ll be telling everyone I’m celebrating on December 25. The story was originally spotted by Tantalizing Trademarks and apply to performances, goods, and services. It’s not the first time she’s applied for trademarks on seemingly common phrases. She locked down the rights to “This Sick Beat” back in January. While we certainly can’t fault her for trademarking her own song title, trying to lock down a birth year is a little much. Like, do we now have to send Taylor royalties every time we show a bouncer our ID? Maybe the addition of Blake Lively to her squad has made her go drunk with power. Or maybe she needs some extra cash to pay for taking her entire crew on vacation. Whatever the case, we hope that Swift will allow us to celebrate Swiftmas in the privacy of our own homes without sending trademark agents in, lawsuits blazing.