Miley Cyrus Suffers Legal Setback in Bruno Mars Copyright Suit

Miley Cyrus must face allegations that her Grammy-winning single plagiarized a Bruno Mars track after a judge rejected her legal team’s technical defense strategy.

U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson denied the pop star’s motion to dismiss litigation claiming her chart-topping 2023 smash “Flowers” improperly borrowed elements from Bruno Mars’ 2013 hit “When I Was Your Man,” Reuters reports. The Tuesday ruling allows the case to proceed toward a potential trial.

The lawsuit, initiated by Tempo Music Investments in September, alleges Cyrus’ Grammy-winning track “duplicates numerous melodic, harmonic and lyrical elements” of Mars’ earlier composition. Tempo acquired partial ownership rights to “When I Was Your Man” after purchasing co-writer Philip Lawrence’s catalog in 2020.

Cyrus, 32, had argued through her legal team that Tempo lacked proper standing to sue because it only partially owned rights to Mars’ song rather than possessing “exclusive rights” required for such litigation. Judge Pregerson firmly rejected this interpretation in his order.

“Ownership of ‘exclusive rights’ is not to be conflated with ‘exclusive ownership’ of rights. The ‘exclusive rights’ are what is owned collectively by the co‐owners,” the ruling stated, according to documents obtained by People magazine.

The judge further clarified that “Lawrence’s interest was a co‐ownership interest in the exclusive rights of the copyright,” and that “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.”

Alex Weingarten, attorney for Tempo Music Investments, expressed confidence following the decision, telling People they are “thrilled” but not “surprised” by the outcome. “Our client is looking forward to having this case proceed to be resolved on its merits and are extremely confident in prevailing,” Weingarten added.

Representatives for Cyrus did not immediately respond to requests for comment from multiple outlets.

The case centers on alleged similarities between “Flowers,” which has accumulated over 1 billion Spotify streams and earned Song of the Year honors at the 2024 Grammy Awards, and Mars’ “When I Was Your Man,” which topped Billboard charts in 2013. Notably, Mars himself is not involved in the lawsuit.

Additional defendants in the case include songwriters Gregory Hein and Michael Pollack, who co-wrote “Flowers” with Cyrus, along with Sony Music Publishing and Apple. In their complaint, Tempo Music Investments seeks to halt further distribution or performance of “Flowers” and is requesting unspecified damages.

Cyrus initially responded to the allegations in November 2024, denying any plagiarism and filing her now-rejected motion to dismiss. Her legal team had contended that “only owners of exclusive rights may sue for copyright infringement” and claimed Tempo lacked standing as “an assignee of only one co-author.”

With Judge Pregerson’s ruling, the case will now proceed to examine the substantive claims regarding musical similarities between the two compositions, potentially setting important precedent in an era where high-profile music copyright disputes have become increasingly common.

“Because Lawrence as a co-owner could sue for infringement, Tempo as co‐owner, in lieu of Lawrence, can sue for infringement without joining the other co‐owners,” Pregerson concluded in his ruling, eliminating Cyrus’ procedural defense and ensuring the case will be evaluated on its musical merits.