had to turn to that song lyrically and flip it onto my own life and sing it to myself. So its from the 'Music Box' album, and it’s called 'Hero', this is for you. Copyright lawsuits "Hero" was the subject of two copyright plagiarism cases; one by Christopher Selletti and the other by Rhonda Dimmie, filed in 1993 and 1996. Selletti claimed he had written the song's lyrics in the form of a poem. One day, as he drove Sly Stone in a limousine to Long Island, he claimed to show him the poem. Selletti claimed Stone complimented the poem, taking it and promising to patent it and earn him royalties. After many months, the pair fell out of contact, leading Selletti to mail himself the envelope and poem, performing a "poor man's copyright". Three years later in 1996, he claimed to listen to Carey's album Music Box and was shocked when he noted the song's similar lyrics. He filed a lawsuit against Carey, Stone, Sony and Stone's manager Jerry Goldstein. Selletti claimed that Stone must have sold or contributed the lyrics to Carey during the recording of the album in late 1992. However, since Stone did not receive songwriting credits on "Hero", Selletti then dropped the suit against Stone, leaving him against Carey and Sony. Prior to their courtroom meeting, Carey told New York Daily News "I feel totally victimized. 'Hero' is my creation and it holds a very special meaning to me. I have every intention of fighting this all the way." In court, Carey provided evidence to her innocence, in the form of a dated lyrical and music notebook, with conceptual info on the song dated back to November 20, 1992, prior to Selletti's meeting with Stone. Additionally, Carey stated the fact that she had originally written it for the film Hero alongside Afanasieff, making their connection or the involvement of his material impossible. Judge Denny Chin found Carey innocent, and ordered Selletti to pay her a fine. Years later, after consulting with another lawyer, Selletti made another attempt at suing Carey and Sony. His lawyer, Jeffrey Levitt, had uncovered the fact that the film was released in October 1992, a full six weeks prior to the November 22 dating in Carey's notebook. Additionally, "Heart of a Hero", which was written by Luther Vandross for the film, was submitted in January 1992, making it impossible for "Hero"