Mariah Carey sued for copyright infringment over 1994's 'All I want for Christmas is You'

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Originally published at: Mariah Carey sued for copyright infringment over 1994's 'All I want for Christmas is You' | Boing Boing

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Ooooh no. Nice try, but you’re not going to get me to fire that song up in June. But maybe this one…

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Any explanation for why it took said songwriter nearly three decades to notice the supposed infringement?

Trademark infringement based on a shared title is almost certainly not going anywhere. It would be like Thomas Pynchon suing the people who made that sci-fi miniseries about lizard people. (“Next on the docket: “V v. V”)

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There is no almost about it. You can’t copyright a title. Even if he can prove that she listened to his song and said “that’s a great title, I’m going to write a song with the same title”.

He might have had a trademark case 30 years ago if he’d trademarked his song title, but after so much time has passed with him not defending it, that’s not going anywhere either.

This is nothing more than a desperate Hail Mary grab for money.

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Yes, which is why I said “trademark infringement.”

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Clearly I needed more coffee.

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One is forced to wonder whose idea this was to start with.
The artist? Hmm.
The record company or publisher and/or their ‘on the clock so we have to come up with something to justify our existence’ lawyers? Yeah - that lot.

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So does that mean Carla Thomas can sue the song writer who is suing Mariah Cary, since she wrote a song in 1966 titled “All I Want for Christmas is You?”

Yeah, it’s a silly lawsuit. But courts lately have seem to lost their minds about what is and is not copyright infringement, so who knows at this point.

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I can’t tell the difference.

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At a guess, running out of money? Possibly getting up in years and being pressured by your heirs who want a larger inheritance? A grudge silently kept for 30 years coupled with the last 10 years of totally bonkers copyright decisions? All of the above?

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There’s so many US counties, 55 pretty good. Which US county was the best?

Nobody ever said copyright law made any sense.

The only winners here are likely to be the lawyers.

Here it is:

I haven’t read it yet but I imagine it’ll be a great cure for insomnia.

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A handful of songs have that title.

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'Twas a tie between Kauai & Monterey

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Let’s look at it real quick…

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

Well, this is starting off well already.

Beyond that it reads as, “they used ‘our title’, we asked the defendant to cease and desist… and they didn’t! Give us $20 million dollars!”

Anybody that has a song called “Love”, “I Love You”, “Crazy”, “Stay”, “I Want You”, “Angel”, “Tonight”, “Let it Go”, “Forever”, or “Baby”, you’re officially on notice.

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All I want for Christmas is to see Mariah Carey rocking that same hairdo Andy Stone is rocking.

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I thought it was Paul Reubens in a Phil Spector wig, but, no, that is Andy Sand in his Vince Vance persona.

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As seen here not so long ago, David Bowie stole the title “Let’s Dance”, and added insult to injury by writing a completely different song.

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