After the judge in Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” infringement case not only dismissed the case at the summary judgment stage, but also laid the foundations for awarding nearly $200,000 in legal fees that plaintiff Vince Vance was surely not factoring when he embarked on this journey.
Plaintiffs don’t wade so far out without help. Little decisions along the way, by various players, take your hand and walk you out to that depth.
Decisions like the one made this week by the Ninth Circuit can only lead to more drownings.
I was so bothered when I thought of Vince Vance, whom I consider deluded and misled, and Mariah Carey, Ed Sheeran, Pharrell Williams, and countless others who’ve had to defend against barely plausible claims in an overly indulgent system. Sheeran missed his grandmother’s funeral because he had to sit in a New York courtroom where a ludicrous verdict against him and “Thinking Out Loud” was a distinct possibility.
Copyright, and from what I can tell, trademark law too, are where innocent until proven guilty is turned on its head. And the Ninth Circuit is more concerned with ensuring the accuser gets their day, not merely in court, but before a jury of their peers. The jury will not be Sam Smith’s peers. They were not Ed Sheeran’s peers. They will understand a fraction of what substantial similarity is.
Something is wrong with all of this.
