Mariah Carey may not have her Christmas tree up anymore, but she’s just gotten a nice present: A federal judge has ruled in her favor in an ongoing copyright infringement lawsuit involving her holiday smash “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
The lawsuit, which has been ongoing since 2022, accuses Mariah of copying her song from one of the same name released in 1989 by Vince Vance & the Valiants. But according to the ruling, obtained by ABC News, Judge Mónica Ramírez Almadani rejected Vance’s argument and granted Mariah’s motion for summary judgment, meaning she won and won’t have to go to trial.
In her ruling, Almadani rejected the arguments of two music experts hired by Vance’s team, who contended the songs were similar. She instead accepted the arguments of two music experts hired by Mariah’s team. Those experts concluded that the only things the two songs shared were a series of “Christmas song clichés.” And one expert noted that there were nearly 20 songs released prior to Vance’s song that contained the same lyrical ideas.
The judge also ruled that Vance’s motion was “frivolous,” “baseless” and filed improperly, “specifically to cause unnecessary delay and needlessly increase the costs of litigation.” As a result, Vance and his lawyers not only lost the case, they’ll have to pay Mariah’s attorneys’ fees.
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