Miley Cyrus fails to dismiss 'Flowers' copyright lawsuit over Bruno Mars's song

Miley Cyrus will have to face a copyright lawsuit over alleged similarities between her 2023 hit Flowers and Bruno Mars’ 2013 ballad When I Was Your Man, after a judge denied her motion to dismiss the case.

A judge ruled on March 18, against the Wrecking Ball singer, rejecting her legal team's argument that Tempo Music Investments, which owns a share of Mars’ song, lacked the right to sue.

Cyrus, 32, and her legal team had argued that only exclusive copyright owners could file a lawsuit, but the judge disagreed, stating that their interpretation of copyright law was “incorrect.”

"Ownership of 'exclusive rights' is not to be conflated with 'exclusive ownership' of rights," the ruling read. "The 'exclusive rights' are what is owned collectively by the co‐owners. By transferring all of that interest, Tempo now steps into Lawrence’s shoes and is a co‐owner of the exclusive rights of the copyright."

Tempo Music Investments, which purchased the catalog rights from the song’s co-writer Philip Lawrence, expressed satisfaction with the ruling.

“We are thrilled but not surprised by the ruling,” said Tempo’s attorney Alex Weingarten in a statement to PEOPLE. “Our client looks forward to having this case resolved on its merits and is extremely confident in prevailing.”

The lawsuit was originally filed in September 2024, alleging that Flowers bears “striking similarities” to Mars’ hit track.

According to the filing, the song "duplicates numerous melodic, harmonic, and lyrical elements" and has led to “unauthorized reproduction, distribution, and exploitation” of When I Was Your Man.

Tempo Music Investments owns a partial copyright in When I Was Your Man after acquiring songwriter Philip Lawrence's catalog rights.

The lawsuit names Cyrus, songwriters Gregory Hein and Michael Pollack, as well as Sony Music Publishing and Apple. However, Bruno Mars himself is not listed as a defendant.

In November 2024, Cyrus denied all allegations of plagiarism and filed to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that Tempo did not own full copyright and therefore lacked standing to sue.

However, the judge ruled that co-ownership of a copyright does not eliminate the ability to pursue legal action, allowing the lawsuit to proceed.

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