Los Angeles federal court has stated it is inclined to dismiss a copyright claim brought by country singer Andy Stone, known under the stage name Vince Vance, against Mariah Carey for her Christmas hit ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’. Stone alleged that Carey had infringed his 1989 song of the same name by copying the lyrics, melody harmonic language and rhythm.
Stone released ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ with the band Vince Vance & the Valiants in 1990 and his since been referred to as the most played country music Christmas song. Carey released her song of the same name on her first Christmas album ‘Merry Christmas’ in 1994 and has maintained its popularity since, consistently re-entering the charts worldwide every year.
Stone’s lawyer argued that around 50% of the lyrics are the same in both songs in almost the same order. However, Carey’s legal team requested that the lawsuit was dismissed on the basis that Stone’s claims would fail the extrinsic test for substantial similarity in protectable expression which is imposed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal.
Following both parties’ submissions during the most recent hearing, the federal judge stated that she was inclined to dismiss the lawsuit. Additionally, she stated that she was seriously considering granting Carey’s motion for sanctions against Stone to prevent their frivolous filing.
The federal judge could not come to a final judgment during the most recent hearing, so her decision is still yet to come. However, there has been no indication as of yet when the judgment is to be expected. Nevertheless, Carey has been able to enjoy yet another successful Christmas campaign with her song, which now exceeds over 2 billion streams on Spotify as of December 2024.
If you have any questions on the above, please do not hesitate to contact the team at McDaniels Law on 0191 281 4000 or legal@mcdanielslaw.com.
