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Mariah Carey has been sued for $20 million for copyright infringement over her hit tune “All I Need For Christmas Is You” by a songwriter who wrote a tune with the identical identify.

Andy Stone, the songwriter behind the lawsuit, mentioned he co-wrote a tune with the identical title in 1989 and accused Carey of profiting off his work in her tune 5 years later. Stone, who goes by the stage identify Vince Vance, mentioned Carey didn’t ask permission to make use of the title.

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Carey and the tune’s co-writer, Walter Afanasieff, behaved in a fashion “designed to use the recognition and distinctive model” of the tune, the lawsuit, filed within the U.S. District Courtroom for the Japanese District of Louisiana, claimed.

“Plaintiff personally requested that Defendants stop and desist from additional distribution of Plaintiff’s work. Regardless of Plaintiff’s request, Defendants proceed to use Plaintiff’s work ‘All I Need for Christmas is You,’ reaping large monetary awards and different pecuniary advantages to the detriment of Plaintiff,” the submitting learn.

The tune has raked in $60 million in royalties, based on the Guardian. There are 177 songs that share the identical identify, based on the USA Copyright Workplace.

Carey has not responded to the lawsuit, filed 28 years after her tune’s launch. Her Merry Christmas album is the highest-selling Christmas album of all time, based on the outlet.

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The tune has topped the charts in a number of international locations, and it has been streamed on Spotify over a billion instances.

Copyright protections final for the lifetime of the artist plus 70 years, based on the U.S. Copyright Workplace.