Jingle Bells and Legal Spells: Mariah’s Christmas Court Update

By Chloe Hillary, Lawyer, Arts Law

For those who have been reading along for a while (and copyright enthusiasts alike) you may remember that last year we posted about Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas copyright infringement case in the US – if you would like to brush up you can read all about it here.

As is customary with the Queen of Christmas we have not heard a lot from her, until November – when she emerged from hibernation in all her Christmas finery (see also her new holiday bar). And this Christmas a US Judge has hinted that Mariah might be getting what she wants most this Christmas – to have the court case against her dismissed. Santa hasn’t delivered the goods yet, but according to Rolling Stone the judge said she’s “minded” to dismiss the claim.

And if copyright was not enough for you (to justify my ongoing obsession and desperate attempts to make her relevant to our last newsletter of the year) the Queen has also popped into the AI debate – whether she intended to or not – with people asking whether her Spotify wrapped message was generated by AI or whether it is the Queen herself. You can watch the video and read everybody’s opinions you didn’t ask for in this informative reddit thread.