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It seems Christmas is the season for lawsuits for multi-award-winning R&B sensation Mariah Carey.
The mother of 2 is getting sued yet again over alleged copyright infringement and I can imagine all Miss Mariah wants for Christmas at this point is to be left alone.
Unfortunately, she ain't getting that this year as the co-authors of the original"All I Want For Christmas Is You," hit tune Andy Stone and Troy Powers are yet again suing her and have clearly stated they want nothing less than $20 million (Sh.3 billion)from the mother of two.
In the new filing, Stone is alleging that Carey and her co-writer, Walter Afanasieff, had "knowingly, willfully, and intentionally" infringed upon the copyright of his 1989 song with the same title, "All I Want for Christmas Is You," which he'd recorded under his music name Vince Vance and the Valiants.
"Melody, lyrics, feel, when you combine these three elements and base your derivative copy on something that is more alike than dislike, it is those substantial similarities that will upon closer inspection reveal the truth of Plaintiffs' claim of infringement," part of the duos legal letter read.
The documents further claim Mariah and her team, "Undoubtedly had access" to Stone's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" at the time of writing her song given its wide commercial and cultural success.
'Defendants knew or should have known that 'All I Want or Christmas is You' could not be used in a musical work by Defendants without a license and/or songwriting credit, as is customary practice in the music industry,"
The rock and roll star also argues his version received "extensive airplay" during the 1993 Christmas season becoming a hit on Billboard's Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart the following year(1994), around the same time Carey's festive classic rendition was released.
Now he and his co-plaintiff, Powers, are seeking a temporary injunction to prevent or restrain infringement and misappropriation of their copyrights and exclusive ownership interests.
The pair are also requesting the impounding of all copies of the alleged infringing work, and a final injunction to prevent or restrain further alleged infringement and misappropriation.
Since its release on her iconic Merry Christmas album, Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You," has received yearly radio play around the festive season, topped the Billboard Hot 100, and been certified Diamond by the RIAA for more than 10 million copies sold making it the only Christmas song to have accomplished the rare feat.
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