Written by: Grace Hoffman
Taylor Swift has just filed for the fifth and final extension for the trademarks on the last two re-recordings of her albums, Taylor Swift (Taylor’s Version), also known as Debut (Taylor’s Version), and Reputation (Taylor’s Version). These albums were previously released by Swift’s prior label, Big Machine Records, in 2006 and 2017, respectively. The trademarks for all of Swift’s re-recorded albums with an added “Taylor’s Version” were filed in February 2021 as Intent to Use (ITU), meaning that Swift had not yet used the terms but had a good faith intention to do so and would provide proof to the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) before the trademark expires. The USPTO allows a maximum of five extensions before the trademark is considered abandoned, at which point the original applicant must refile as if she were starting from the beginning. Trademarks are filed by artists ahead of time, as opposed to copyrights which can only be sought after the song or art has been created. Copyrights are used to protect the actual sound recordings and composition of the song, while trademarks are used to identify goods and services as part of the artist’s company. Filing for a copyright isn’t a race like filing for the use of terms and images on goods and services.
As of February 1, 2025, Taylor Swift has re-released four albums with the “Taylor’s Version” suffix. The singer started adding “Taylor’s Version” to her albums and songs after a dispute with her previous label, Big Machine Records. Swift’s label owned the masters of Swift’s first 6 albums, starting with Taylor Swift and ending with Reputation, and sold them to a third party buyer against Taylor’s wishes rather than offering Swift the chance to purchase them herself. In response, the singer decided to re-record the albums once the copyright lapsed to regain ownership and take a stand for artists’ rights and complete ownership of their creative works. In Taylor’s own words from an interview with Seth Meyers after she announced her intent to re-record, “When something says Taylor’s Version in parentheses, it means I own it.”
The re-release project began in February 2021 with the announcement of Fearless (Taylor’s Version), to be released that April. Following that February announcement, Swift’s team immediately filed for ITU trademarks for her first six albums with “Taylor’s Version” added. This ITU has been fulfilled quickly for the prior albums, with Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version) being released in 2021 and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) released in 2023. The pattern that Swift has been following for these re-recordings has been two a year, and these last two re-recordings have been expected to be released in 2025 for some time now.
Fans (known as “Swifties”) are expecting the singer to fulfill her intention to use the trademarks by the July 2025 deadline instead of abandoning them and restarting the process for a number of reasons. There have been theories circulating in the Swiftie community about a double album drop of Reputation (Taylor’s Version) and Taylor Swift (Taylor’s Version), coined “Debutation.” Eagle-eyed fans have noticed “Easter Eggs,” secret messages that they believe Swift has hidden in plain sight, that Swift has scattered such as mashing up songs from the two albums in the last shows of her record-breaking Eras Tour that ended in 2024 and holding up a seemingly suspicious number of “2”s during that same tour and on her Instagram page. This theory, combined with knowledge of Swift’s pattern of releasing two re-recorded albums a year thus far, excites fans and has them on the edge of their seats every time Swift is spotted in public or posts online. The question left now is whether Taylor is ready to fulfill her trademark intent and give her fans what they’re hoping for or if she’ll keep the suspense going and “abandon” her trademark that was just extended.
If the trademark is abandoned, Swift has a few options on how to reapply, but these options could weaken her claim. One option is to file a petition with the USPTO within two months of the abandonment to try and revive the trademark. However, there is the potential that this period between abandonment and refiling could allow another party to apply for the trademark, making the singer lose her priority in the “first-come, first-serve” order of applications. If a party filed for and began using the trademark before Swift refiled, Swift’s reapplication would likely be denied. If another party does end up claiming the trademark, it would only affect Swift’s future albums under the previously trademarked names, but will leave fans, and presumably Swift herself, disappointed.
Sources:
Bryan West, What Taylor Swift’s trademark applications can tell fans about a ‘Reputation’ rerelease, USA TODAY (Jan. 28, 2025).
Delaney Szekeley, Look What You Made Her Do: Why Taylor Swift is Re-Recording Early Albums, JURIS MAGAZINE (Nov. 15, 2024).
Isabel Fox, For the Swifties: An Explanation of the “(Taylor’s Version)” Trademark Applications, GALLIUM LAW (Aug. 30, 2022).
Late Night with Seth Meyers, Taylor Swift Explains Why She’s Re-Recording Her Albums, YOUTUBE (Nov. 12, 2021).
Mariah Espada, Taylor Swift Is Halfway Through Her Rerecording Project. It’s Paid Off Big Time, TIME (Aug. 10, 2023).
Mehera Bonner, Taylor Swift Has Fans Fully Convinced That ‘Debutation’ Is Coming, COSMOPOLITAN (Oct. 30, 2024).
REPUTATION TAYLOR’S VERSION, US Serial No. 90524340 (filed Apr. 21, 2021).
Reviving an abandoned application, USPTO (March 2024).
TAYLOR SWIFT TAYLOR’S VERSION, US Serial No. 90524271 (filed Apr. 21, 2021).