Mariah Carey Wins Copyright Lawsuit for All I Want For Christmas Is You
Mariah Carey is getting into the Christmas spirit a little early this year. Carey has been cleared of copyright infringement in a case regarding her 1994 holiday hit, All I Want for Christmas Is You.
The Christmas anthem and singer were involved in a case with songwriter Adam Stone, who alleged that Carey’s song exploited the “popularity” and “style” of his 1989 song with the same name. Stone, who goes by Vince Vance, was seeking $20 million in damages for the case.
In a ruling on Wednesday (March 19), a judge rejected the allegations. Judge Mónica Ramírez Almadani stated the songs only shared “Christmas song clichés,” according to BBC. She further stated that Stone and his team had not “met their burden of showing that (the songs by) Carey and Vance are substantially similar.”
Stone and his legal team were then ordered to repay the legal bills that Carey gathered while defending the case.
The case began in 2022 when Stone claimed his song received excessive airplay the year before Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You was released. Stone was hoping to capitalize off of some of the success of Carey’s holiday favorite.
The Christmas song generates nearly $8.5 million every year due to its success during the holiday season. Carey has made no public statements regarding the lawsuit as of Thursday, March 20.
