Mariah Carey wins 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' copyright lawsuit

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MANILA, Philippines — A Los Angeles federal judge dismissed a copyright lawsuit claiming that singer Mariah Carey stole elements from a songwriter's track for her classic holiday song "All I Want for Christmas Is You."

Adding to Carey's victory is the judge imposing sanctions on the songwriter who filed the lawsuit, Andy Stone of Vince Vance & the Valiants, to cover some or all of Carey's legal fees for incurring "needless expenses responding to frivolous legal arguments and unsupported factual contentions."

In the dismissal, Judge Monica Ramirez Almadani also said Stone did not have enough evidence to prove his 1989 song of the same name was copied.

Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" was released in 1994 and has dominated charts every holiday season.

Stone initially sued Carey and songwriter Walter Afansieff for $20 million (P1.05 billion) for copyright infringement, as well as for unjust enrichment and violations of the American Trademark Act for at least $40 million (P2.1 billion).

However the judge, after musicology analysis, said the two songs were unique and the only similarity was the "use of a common lyrical idea and Christmas song clichés that were in common use" before Stone's claims.

Stone said through an attorney he would appeal the decision. Meanwhile, Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" recently became the first holiday track to reach two billion streams on Spotify.