Mariah Carey sued over festive hit All I Want For Christmas Is You

Mariah Carey's Christmas hit has become a festive staple since it was released in 1994. Photo / Getty Images

Mariah Carey is being sued for copyright infringement over her song All I Want For Christmas Is You.

The hit has become a festive staple since it was released in 1994 but Carey and her co-writer Walter Afanasieff are being sued for $20 million by songwriter Andy Stone - who claims that he co-wrote a track of the same name in 1989.

In legal documents filed in Louisiana, Stone claims that he has never given permission for the track to be used and argues that Mariah and her collaborators "knowingly, wilfully, and intentionally engaged in a campaign" to infringe his copyright.

Stone accuses the pop star and her team of acting in a manner that was "designed to exploit the popularity and unique style" of the song, suggesting that it "caused confusion" as the two songs have different lyrics and melodies.

Mariah Carey performing her festive smash hit in New York. Photo / Getty Images

The lawsuit accused the defendants of committing "acts of unjust enrichment by the unauthorised appropriation of plaintiff's work and the goodwill associated therewith".

Carey previously recalled being taken aback when her record label suggested that she should release a Christmas song.

The 53-year-old star said: "When I wrote All I Want for Christmas Is You, the label was like, 'okay, why don't you do a Christmas record?' And I'm like, 'Really, now?' Like, second album, two albums in.

"And I was like, 'Well, I do love the holidays, let me try.' So, All I Want for Christmas Is You is the first Christmas song I ever wrote, and then I worked on it with my then-writing partner, Walter A, and we just wanted to make it feel like a modern classic."