Pop singer Mariah Carey, Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Corp on Thursday said they are seeking more than $180,000 in legal fees after prevailing in a copyright dispute over her holiday megahit "All I Want for Christmas Is You".
U.S. District Judge Monica Almadani in Los Angeles had ruled last month that the writers of Vince Vance and the Valiants' "All I Want for Christmas Is You" failed to show that their 1989 country song was similar enough to Carey's to support their copyright infringement lawsuit.
Almadani also granted Carey and her co-defendants' request for sanctions against Andy Stone, who performs as Vince Vance, and Troy Powers, the co-writer of the 1989 song, finding that Stone and Powers' lawyers made outdated legal arguments and stated facts without evidence.
Carey and her co-defendants said they are entitled to $185,602.30 in attorney fees to enforce the sanction. Lawyers for Stone and Powers did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did lawyers for Carey and her co-defendants Sony and Universal.
Lawyers for Kobalt Music Publishing America, another defendant, declined to comment.
Most of the work on the defense side was handled by lawyers from Davis Wright Tremaine, who represented Carey, Sony Music Entertainment and Universal, according to the fee motion. The lead partner of that team, Peter Anderson, billed $995 per hour.
Vince Vance and the Valiants' "All I Want for Christmas Is You" was released in 1989 and reached the Billboard country charts during holiday seasons in the 1990s. Carey's song appeared on her 1994 album "Merry Christmas" and has since become a popular standard, topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart every holiday season since 2019.
Stone and Powers sued Carey in 2023, alleging her song copied theirs and requested at least $20 million in damages. Carey responded last year that the songs were "completely different" and argued that any similar elements were common to many Christmas songs, such as "snow, mistletoe, presents under Christmas trees, and wanting a loved one for Christmas".
(Reuters)
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