Every year, around December, one name comes to mind: Mariah Carey, thanks to her hit song "All I want for Christmas is You". But this Christmas, Carey faces a renewed lawsuit for copyright infringement, as reported by Billboard.
The complaint was filed by Andy Stone and Troy
Powers, who were the singer-songwriters for a song with the same
name, released five years before Carey's hit. The complaint
alleges that Carey's holiday anthem copies their song's
"compositional structure of an extended comparison between a
loved one and trappings of seasonal luxury", as well as its
musical elements.
Andy Stone, who goes by the name Vince Vance, initially sued Mariah Carey in June of 2022,
causing one member of the Goodmans IP Team to post a special weekend update to express his
(overwhelming) concerns. That lawsuit was dropped in November of 2022, without
prejudice.
The most recent lawsuit seems to replicate the claims made in
the initial complaint, but this time in a different jurisdiction.
The new version of the lawsuit also includes greater details about
the success of Stone's version of the jingle and more detailed
allegations about the similarities between the two songs. Stone and
Powers are seeking $20 million in damages, to account for the
revenue Carey's song has generated over the last 28
years.
Stone is reportedly represented by Gerald P. Fox, the same
lawyer who represented the songwriters who accused Taylor Swift of
stealing the lyrics to "Shake It Off". However, the
lawsuit against Taylor Swift was dropped, albeit with prejudice, precluding the
possibility of it being refiled.
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