Miley Cyrus’ request to dismiss Flowers lawsuit hit with push-back from judge

In September 2024, Tempo Music Investments filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Miley Cyrus, alleging that her hit song “Flowers” plagiarized Bruno Mars’ 2013 track “When I Was Your Man.” Tempo, having acquired a portion of the rights to Mars’ song from co-writer Philip Lawrence, claimed that “Flowers” duplicated numerous melodic, harmonic, and lyrical elements of “When I Was Your Man.”

In response, Cyrus’ legal team filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that Tempo lacked the legal standing to sue. They contended that since Tempo only represents one of the song’s multiple co-writers, it does not own exclusive rights and, as a result, lacks standing to bring the action.

empo’s complaint alleged that “Flowers” copied many melodic, harmonic, and lyrical elements from “When I Was Your Man.” Cyrus’ attorneys suggested that an expert comparison of the two songs would resolve the issue.

The case is ongoing, and its outcome may have significant implications for copyright law, particularly concerning the rights of partial copyright holders to initiate infringement lawsuits.