Court denies Miley Cyrus' motion to dismiss 'Flowers' copyright lawsuit
A California federal court judge denied Miley Cyrus’ attempt to dismiss a copyright infringement lawsuit over her song Flowers.
According to a court document obtained by PEOPLE Magazine, the judge denied the singer's request to toss a lawsuit filed by Tempo Music Investments, which alleged that she plagiarized Bruno Mars' When I Was Your Man while creating her Grammy award-winning hit—particularly its chorus, harmony, melody, chord progressions, and lyrics.
“It is undeniable based on the combination and number of similarities between the two recordings that ‘Flowers’ would not exist without ‘When I Was Your Man,” the firm stated in the complaint. It's also seeking monetary damages in the complaint, though the exact amount is yet to be determined.
The lawsuit was submitted by Tempo Music in September 2024.
Cyrus, two months later, denied the copyright infringement allegations through her lawyers, saying “only owners of exclusive rights may sue for copyright infringement,” and that “an assignee of only one co-author lacks exclusive rights and, therefore, also lacks standing to sue for infringement.”
Mars, who is neither affiliated with Tempo nor named as plaintiff in the suit, has yet to comment on the matter.
Flowers was released in January 2023 as part of Cyrus' eighth studio album Endless Summer Vacation. The singer won two Grammy awards for it early this year, including Best Pop Solo Performance and Record of the Year.
When I Was Your Man, meanwhile, is among the tracks featured in Mars' 2012 album Unorthodox Jukebox. It was nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.
