A judge has refused Miley Cyrus’ request to dismiss a copyright lawsuit filed against her by Tempo Music Investments. This lawsuit alleges that there are notable similarities between Cyrus’ Grammy-winning song “Flowers” and Bruno Mars’ song “When I Was Your Man.” The decision to allow the lawsuit to proceed was made by Judge Dean D. Pregerson, as confirmed by FOX Business.
Tempo Music Investments acquired the rights to “When I Was Your Man” by purchasing the catalog of Philip Lawrence, one of the song’s co-authors. Cyrus’ legal team argued that the right to sue for copyright infringement is lost upon the transfer of co-owned rights. However, Judge Pregerson disagreed, indicating that such a limitation would decrease the value of jointly owned copyrights, as it would discourage potential buyers who cannot enforce these rights.
The judge further noted that Cyrus’ team misinterpreted ownership rights, explaining that exclusive rights are owned collectively by co-owners. Each co-owner has an interest in these exclusive rights, which they share collectively against others.
Representatives for Cyrus and Tempo Music were contacted by FOX Business for their inputs on the case.
Tempo Music’s lawsuit, filed in September, claims that Cyrus’ “Flowers” shows “striking similarities” to Mars’ song, alleging it borrows various melodic, harmonic, and lyrical elements. Although Mars himself is not a plaintiff in this lawsuit, it names co-writers Gregory Hein and Michael Pollack along with other defendants, including Sony Music Publishing and Apple.
According to the suit, certain musical components, like the opening vocal line of the chorus in “Flowers,” echo the verse in “When I Was Your Man.” Tempo Music claims to have acquired its copyright interests in the song around 2020 and sought to prevent Cyrus and others from further using and performing “Flowers.”
Stephanie Giang-Paunon from FOX Business contributed additional details to this report.
