A federal judge has just denied a request filed by former Disney star Miley Cyrus in her effort to have 'Flowers' copyright infringement lawsuit dismissed.
- Mar 23, 2025
AceShowbiz - Pop superstar Miley Cyrus is heading to trial. She is set to defend her Grammy-winning hit "Flowers" in a lawsuit that claims she copied Bruno Mars' 2013 track "When I Was Your Man."
A recent ruling by US District Judge Dean Pregerson has denied her request to dismiss the lawsuit, pushing her into a high-stakes legal battle that will scrutinize the similarities between these two popular songs.
Tempo Music Investments, who now owns a stake in "When I Was Your Man" after acquiring co-writer Philip Lawrence's catalogue in 2020, filed the lawsuit against Cyrus and her label, Sony Music, in September 2024. They allege that "Flowers" duplicates "numerous melodic, harmonic and lyrical elements" of Mars' emotional ballad, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 2013.
Judge Pregerson rejected Cyrus' argument that Tempo lacked the standing to sue, emphasizing that, "Tempo now steps into Lawrence's shoes and is a co-owner of the exclusive rights of the copyright."
Cyrus' legal team had contended that unless Tempo had "exclusive rights" to the song, they could not proceed with the lawsuit. However, the judge's ruling clarifies that partial ownership can be sufficient for filing a suit.
Tempo's lawyer, Alex Weingarten of Willkie Farr & Gallagher, expressed his satisfaction, noting the company is "thrilled but not the least surprised" by the decision and is "extremely confident in prevailing" as the case proceeds.
The trial will now dissect the musical components of both tracks, with Tempo seeking unspecified damages and demanding that "Flowers" be halted from streaming and sales.
Such a halt could deal a significant blow to Cyrus, whose song amassed over 1 billion streams on Spotify and won the Song of the Year Grammy award in 2024. "Any fan of Bruno Mars' When I Was Your Man knows that Miley Cyrus's Flowers did not achieve all of that success on its own," Tempo dissed Cyrus.
Adding to the intrigue is rumor that Cyrus' song is a jab at her ex-husband Liam Hemsworth, making this trial a fascinating watch for both legal and pop culture enthusiasts.
For Miley Cyrus herself, the stakes couldn't be higher, with both her reputation and a substantial amount of royalties on the line.
