Did Taylor Swift File These Trademark Applications for SWIFTSEND, THE SWIFTLIFE and Several Others?

On March 25th, a Delaware limited liability company called Cobalt Canyon, LLC filed 20 federal trademark applications for a variety of trademarks that seem to be associated with the signer Taylor Swift.

The marks are seen above and include filings for SWIFTSEND, TAYPLAY, TAY, and THE SWIFTLIFE. The applicant filed each mark in both Class 041 and Class 035 (which is why each mark appears twice) for a variety of services. Those services include "[e]ntertainment services in the nature of life musical performances," "[e]ntertainment, namely, live music concerts," "[e]ntertainment services, namely, public appearances by a muscial artist and entertainer," "fan club services," and "computerized on-line ordering services featuring a wide variety of products related to a musical artist and an entertainer." Seems suggestive of a popular musical artist that uses variations of Swift- and Tay-, no?

In the past, Taylor Swift has filed trademark applications under her own name and under her IP management and holding company, TAS Rights Management, LLC (as I've blogged about before). However, a quick search of the U.S. Trademark Office's database does not show any previous filings for Taylor Swift-related trademarks by Cobalt Canyon, LLC.

The nature of Cobalt Canyon, LLC's relationship with Taylor Swift, if any, is unclear. Although the LLC was legally organized in Delaware, the address listed on the trademark applications corresponds to the New York City office of the law firm McGuire Woods.

Whoever is behind these trademark applications spent a significant amount of time and money getting them filed. If these applications were not filed by Taylor Swift, the similarity of the marks and the relatedness of the services with those provided by the singer mean these marks border on the lines of infringement (and many of them probably do infringe Taylor's marks). That being said, and given that Taylor Swift is especially protective of her brand, I find it unlikely that anyone other than her would file these trademark applications.