Federal Judge Dismisses Copyright Lawsuit Against Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’

A federal judge has dismissed a copyright lawsuit against Mariah Carey‘s smash hit “All I Want for Christmas is You.” Country singer and songwriter Vince Vance previously alleged that Carey had ripped off his band Vance & the Valiants’ 1988 Christmas jingle of the same name, but Judge Mónica Ramírez Almadani rejected his allegations, in a Wednesday ruling, citing evidence from a musicologist that the two tracks were “different” and shared “commonplace Christmas song clichés,” found in many other songs.

The judge reported that plaintiffs Vince, whose real name is Andy Stone, and co-writer Troy Powers “have not met their burden of showing that [the songs by] Carey and Vance are substantially similar under the extrinsic test,” or a test the judge used to determine whether the work was copyrighted. In addition, the judge called Vince and his lawyers’ conduct “egregious” and that they “cause[d] unnecessary delay and needlessly increase the costs of litigation.” The judge ordered them to repay Carey’s legal bills incurred while defending the case.

Vince and Powers filed a $20 million lawsuit against the Queen of Christmas in November 2023, and alleged Carey’s 1994 holiday anthem is a “derivative” of their late Eighties single, based on lyrics, melody, harmonic language, and rhythm. Carey and her lawyers have disputed the allegations.

Vince previously sued Carey in June 2022, but he dismissed the complaint without prejudice a few months after. In a 2024 complaint, Vince believed Carey accessed their 1998 Christmas song because of its “extensive airplay” in 1993. They also performed the country jingle at the White House the following year. Carey co-wrote and recorded “All I Want for Christmas is You” before adding it as the lead track on her 1994 album Merry Christmas. Since its release, Carey’s single has become a staple at holiday gatherings, and in 2024 topped the Billboard Hot 100 list for 17 weeks.