Mariah Carey has emerged victorious in a copyright lawsuit over her iconic song “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” On March 19, Judge Monica Almadani in Los Angeles dismissed the case, ruling that there was insufficient evidence to prove Carey copied Andy Stone’s 1989 country song of the same name. Stone and co-writer Troy Powers had alleged copyright infringement and sought $20 million in damages.
The lawsuit claimed Carey’s song imitated the compositional structure of Stone’s, but Judge Almadani found that the similarities were common Christmas song clichés already in use before Stone’s release. Musicologist Dr. Lawrence Ferrara noted that both songs were fundamentally different, with only shared lyrical ideas and clichés that were prevalent prior to Stone’s song.
Carey’s version, released in 1994, has become a seasonal classic, topping charts annually and achieving over two billion streams on Spotify. Carey expressed gratitude to fans for making her song a holiday tradition, saying, “This is beyond incredible. I’m honored to have ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ be the first holiday track on Spotify to reach 2 Billion Streams!”
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