Miley Cyrus requests dismissal of 'Flowers' lawsuit over Bruno Mars song
Miley Cyrus is requesting to dismiss a lawsuit over her hit single "Flowers."
The civil lawsuit, filed by Tempo Music Investments in September, accused the pop star of copying elements of the Bruno Mars song "When I Was Your Man." Tempo Music owns a share of the song's copyright.
The singer's legal team, in a motion for dismissal filed Wednesday in California's Central District court, argued due to the investment platform owning "one co-author's portion of the copyright," the lawsuit "lacks standing," as "only a legal or beneficial owner of an exclusive copyright right may sue for infringement," citing the Copyright Act.
The dismissal request adds that "the allegedly copied elements are random, scattered, unprotected ideas and musical building blocks."
Tempo Music owns the catalog of Philip Lawrence, one of the song's four co-writers, with Mars. "When I Was Your Man" was released as a single in January 2013 from Mars' 2012 sophomore studio album "Unorthodox Jukebox."
"Flowers" was released as a single in January 2023, nearly 10 years later to the date of Mars' song, one of the hits from Cyrus' eighth studio album "Endless Summer Vacation" that same year.
Cyrus is one of three co-writers of the song, all of which are named as defendants with retailers, streaming corporations and entertainment giants, including Walmart, Apple, Amazon and Live Nation.
Tempo Music also fails to claim that Lawrence's co-authors granted him "any rights" to the copyright or the investment platform, the motion for dismissal says. Its "own allegations establish" that it has been transferred "non-exclusive rights," meaning Tempo Music doesn't have sole ownership over the song, the motion says.
'Flowers' vs. 'When I Was Your Man': Hear the similarities, differences
Lawsuit claims Miley Cyrus' 'Flowers' copied Bruno Mars song's melody, lyrics
In Tempo Music's September suit, it claimed that "'Flowers' duplicates numerous melodic, harmonic, and lyrical elements of 'When I Was Your Man.'"
Tempo Music says Cyrus' song includes "the melodic pitch design and sequence of the verse, the connecting bass-line, certain bars of the chorus, certain theatrical music elements, lyric elements, and specific chord progressions."
The lawsuit also mentioned the widespread success of "Flowers," a comeback hit for Cyrus, which resulted in a pair of first-time Grammy wins for the singer.
Contributing: Jay Stahl