Mariah Carey has been granted an early Christmas present after a songwriter dropped a legal claim for breach of copyright over the title of her most lucrative festive hit.
Country singer Andy Stone, of the band Vince Vance & the Valiants, co-wrote a song called All I Want for Christmas is You in 1989, five years before Carey’s own song of the same name was released.
Although the tracks differed in melody and lyrics, Stone filed a civil lawsuit against Carey, 52, her co-writer Walter Afanasieff and Sony Music Entertainment in June, for “unjust enrichment” and claiming that they “never sought or obtained permission” to use the song’s title.
An amended complaint filed weeks later claimed that the lyrics of both songs contained “substantial similarities”
