A songwriter is seeking $20 million in damages for releasing a song titled "All I Want For Christmas Is You" five years before Mariah Carey's hit of the same name.
The songwriter who sued Mariah Carey, claiming the singer stole her hit "All I Want For Christmas Is You" from an earlier song of his, has dropped his lawsuit.
Mississippi artist Vince Vance filed the lawsuit this summer, claiming Mariah Carey's 1994 holiday hit infringed on his 1989 song of the same name.
It was no small category, as "All I Want for Christmas Is You" has reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in each of the last three holiday seasons.
But on Tuesday, Owens Vance's attorneys voluntarily dropped the lawsuit against Mariah Carey. The move means the lawsuit will be dismissed, but leaves the door open for Vance to refile the suit in the future.
Vince Vance filed the lawsuit in June, claiming his "All I Want For Christmas Is You" was recorded in 1989 and received "extensive airplay" during the 1993 holiday season, a year before Carey released the her best known song with the same title.
Calling Mariah Carey's song a "derivative" of his, he is seeking at least $20 million in damages from her, the song's co-creator Walter Afanasieff and Sony Music.
The lawsuit against Mariah Carey surprised many when it was filed, as it was thought to be too late for Vince Vance, while others questioned whether there should be a statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit over a song that has been in the news for nearly three decades.
But the surprising answer to that question is no, largely because of a 2014 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the movie "Raging Bull," which overturned long-standing laws that limited how long a copyright holder can wait. before going to court.
In the music industry, the "Raging Bull" ruling has sparked a series of lawsuits in recent years over decades-old copyright disputes, including a much-lauded lawsuit against Led Zeppelin over "Stairway To Heaven."
In another lawsuit, U2 were accused of copyright infringement over 1991's 'The Fly', while Meat Loaf was hit with another lawsuit over 'I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) » of 1993.
But just because someone can sue doesn't mean they'll win, and experts said this summer that Vince Vance would have a hard time supporting his "All I Want For Christmas Is You" claims in court.
Although both songs share the same title and a single verse, that's pretty much where the similarities end.
And that title is far from unique: US Copyright Office filings show that there are several other songs with the title "All I Want For Christmas Is You," including several that were written before Mariah's songs. Carey or Vince Vance.
"The only similarity being cited is in the title of the song, not the music or the lyrics," Paul Fakler, a veteran music attorney at the law firm Mayer Brown, told Billboard this summer.
"Words and short phrases are not protected by copyright law, and there are dozens of other songs with the same title," he stressed.
Before Vince Vance moved to withdraw the suit this week, little actual litigation had taken place in the intervening four months and the case was still in the early procedural stages.
