Mariah Carey being sued for $20million over "All I Want For Christmas Is You"

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Vince Vance & The Valiants - All I Want For Christmas Is You


Mariah Carey - All I Want for Christmas Is You


Mariah Carey is being sued for $20million (£16million)
for copyright infringement of her festive hit song All I Want For Christmas Is You.

https://metro.co.uk/2022/06/04/mari...ver-all-i-want-for-christmas-is-you-16768268/

The singer, 53, released the track in 1994 as part of her album Merry Christmas, but she and her co-writer Walter Afansieff have been accused of copying the track.

The lawsuit, filed by Andy Stone at the US District Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana, alleges that the song was taken from one of the same name that he co-wrote for Vince Vance & the Valiants in 1989 and never gave permission for it to be used.

In the documents, obtained by PA, Stone states that Carey and her collaborators ‘knowingly, wilfully, and intentionally engaged in a campaign’ to infringe his copyright for the song.

It adds that the defendants also committed ‘acts of unjust enrichment by the unauthorised appropriation of plaintiff’s work and the goodwill associated therewith’, and Stone is seeking damages of $20million (£16million).

All I Want For Christmas Is You has become one of the most well-known Christmas hits, with Carey’s Merry Christmas album also being the best-selling US Christmas album of all time, selling more than 15 million copies worldwide.
 
I couldn't find out for sure, but I suspect that Vince and the valiants recently sold their catalog to a publicly owned publishing company.

Companies like this launch infringement lawsuits left and right because it's an easy money grab. It would also explain why he waited 30 years to sue.
 
A Bit of a Weak Claim Soundwise....Plus You Waited More Than 30 Years, Considering the Success and Ubiquity of the Song, to Bring Suit :dunno:
They waited 30 years because the song went #1 in the country for the past 2 Xmas’s and they saw that potential royalty money.
 
Although this is not sampling issue, maybe it works the same way.

Apparently their is a statute of limitation for reporting sampling.

Bob James said by the time he found out about RUN DMC's sample for Peter Piper, it was past the statute of limitation.

He said he could not go back and collect money from past sells but could moving forward.

I'm not sure how long the statute of limitation is.

Check out minute 4:05.

 
lol,

I see where they are making a connection.

At the end of the 1st song (3:15), the woman sings "All I want for Christmas.....pause....is yoouuuuuuuu". And that is followed by a 1-6-2-5 chord sequence (I Got Rhythm changes). That's the same as Mariah's song. They might have a case. Although I thought there was a statute of limitations.
 










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