Copyright lawsuit over Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You dropped by plaintiff

• A lawsuit claiming copyright infringement of one of the biggest Christmas songs released has been dismissed.
• Andy Stone claims that Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You infringed upon his song of the same name five years prior.
• But the plaintiff has dropped their lawsuit against Carey and her songwriter - for now.

One of Mariah Carey’s signature songs—and a holiday staple on British airwaves—has seen a copyright lawsuit temporarily dismissed.

The lawsuit, filed by songwriter Andy Stone, alleged that Carey and songwriter Walter Afanasieff's 1994 hit infringed on his own song, also titled All I Want For Christmas Is You, which he co-wrote and released in 1989 with his band Vince Vance & the Valiants.

Stone's claim centred on the similarity of the song titles and that Carey's song unlawfully copied elements from his earlier work. Stone initially filed the lawsuit in a Louisiana federal court in June 2022.

However, in a report published by Billboard, Stone has now voluntarily dropped his lawsuit and is currently not pursuing further legal action.

The dismissal means that, for now, Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff are no longer facing this particular legal challenge regarding All I Want For Christmas Is You. However, Stone retains the option to refile the lawsuit in the future, although his intentions remain unclear.

Since its release in 1994, the song has become a modern Christmas standard, a staple of holiday playlists, and a record-breaking hit, consistently re-entering the UK charts every year and solidifying Carey’s unofficial title as the Queen of Christmas.

The song has received multiple certifications in the UK. It has been certified multiple times Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and multiple times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Similar lawsuits have been brought against other artists regarding their signature songs, notably the case involving Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines, which resulted in a verdict that they had infringed on Marvin Gaye's Got to Give It Up, and the well-documented copyright dispute surrounding The Verve's Bittersweet Symphony.

Neither Mariah Carey nor her team have commented on the dismissal of the case.

Have you listened to the version of All I Want For Christmas Is You by the plaintiff and do you think there were any similarities between the two? Let us know your thoughts on this copyright case by leaving a comment below.