Mariah Carey has successfully defended herself in a copyright infringement case surrounding her holiday anthem All I Want for Christmas Is You, a song that has become a cultural mainstay since its release in 1994. A US judge ruled this week that the singer did not copy the work of songwriter Adam Stone, who claimed Carey’s chart-topping hit bore resemblance to a track he released under the name Vince Vance in 1989.
Judge Dismisses Claims of Infringement
The lawsuit, originally filed in 2022, sought $20 million in damages and accused Carey of capitalizing on the supposed “popularity” and “style” of Stone’s earlier track. However, Judge Mónica Ramírez Almadani rejected the claims in a decisive ruling on Wednesday, stating the two songs share only broad “Christmas song clichés” common to the genre and found no substantial similarity between them.
Music Experts Support Carey’s Defense
Carey’s legal team enlisted the help of expert musicologists to analyze the compositions. One of them, Professor Lawrence Ferrara of New York University, testified that the two songs have “no significant melodic similarities” and that both tracks drew from a long tradition of holiday music. He cited at least 19 earlier songs with similar lyrical content, some of which even shared the same title.
The judge ruled that these findings rendered Stone’s claims insufficient, noting that titles, common phrases, and familiar Christmas imagery such as “Santa Claus” and “mistletoe” are not eligible for copyright protection. A counter-report submitted by Stone’s team was dismissed after the expert behind it admitted that the melodies in question were fundamentally different.
Frivolous Lawsuit Results in Sanctions
Not only did Judge Almadani side with Carey on the infringement matter, she also imposed sanctions on Stone and his legal team for bringing what she described as a “frivolous” lawsuit. Her ruling criticized the filing for being filled with “vague, incomprehensible mixtures of factual assertions and conclusions, subjective opinions, and other irrelevant evidence.”
Stone and his lawyers are now required to cover Carey’s legal fees incurred during the course of the case.
The Origins of a Holiday Hit
Carey has long maintained that she composed All I Want for Christmas Is You on a basic Casio keyboard while watching It’s a Wonderful Life, later polishing it with co-writer Walter Afanasieff. Despite Stone’s insistence that Carey fabricated this story, the judge found no evidence that the 1994 track was derivative of Stone’s 1989 composition.
Song’s Commercial Success
Since its release, Carey’s Christmas hit has enjoyed phenomenal commercial success. The track reportedly earns around $8.5 million annually and has spent over 140 weeks in the UK’s Top 100 charts. Its cultural and financial impact has led many, including Stone, to attempt to stake a claim in its success — but this ruling confirms that the song is firmly and legally Mariah Carey’s own.
Legal Victory for Artistic Originality
The case highlights ongoing debates about copyright protection in the music industry, especially for works that rely heavily on common thematic material — such as Christmas songs. Judge Almadani’s decision serves as a reminder that shared concepts and phrases do not equate to infringement unless there is clear and substantial similarity in the music itself.
While neither Mariah Carey nor Adam Stone has issued a public comment following the ruling, the judgment marks a significant legal victory for the pop icon, affirming her creative authorship over one of the most enduring holiday songs in modern history.
