Bruno Mars in November 2021; Miley Cyrus in December 2022. Photo: John Esparza via Getty; Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty
Miley Cyrus has denied allegations of plagiarization and has filed to dismiss the copyright lawsuit surrounding her hit single “Flowers.”
In documents obtained by PEOPLE from Wednesday, Nov. 20, lawyers for Cyrus, 32, denied copyright infringement claims from Tempo Music Investments, a partial copyright holder for Bruno Mars‘ 2013 track “When I Was Your Man” that alleges she plagiarized the song on “Flowers.”
The copyright for “When I Was Your Man” is only partially owned by Tempo because it acquired the catalog of the song’s co-writer Philip Lawrence. However, it has no affiliation with the track’s other co-writers, Ari Levine and Andrew Wyatt.
Miley Cyrus in February 2024. Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty
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Because of that distinction, Cyrus’ attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which PEOPLE has reviewed, arguing that “only owners of exclusive rights may sue for copyright infringement” and “an assignee of only one co-author lacks exclusive rights and, therefore, also lacks standing to sue for infringement.”
Attorneys for Cyrus and Tempo have not yet responded to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
On Sept. 16, Cyrus was initially sued in September over the similarities between her 2023 hit and “When I Was Your Man.”
According to the lawsuit, which was obtained by PEOPLE and filed in a Los Angeles court, Tempo Music Investments — which owns a share of the copyright in Mars’ hit after it acquired songwriter Philip Lawrence’s music catalog — claimed that many “recognized the striking similarities” between the two songs upon the release of “Flowers.”
“It is undeniable based on the combination and number of similarities between the two recordings that ‘Flowers’ would not exist without ‘When I Was Your Man,’ ” the complaint read, adding that “Flowers” “duplicates numerous melodic, harmonic, and lyrical elements” of Mars’ song.
“Accordingly, Plaintiff brings this action for copyright infringement arising out of Defendants’ unauthorized reproduction, distribution and exploitation of ‘When I Was Your Man,’ ” the document added.
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Bruno Mars in July 2022. Kevin Mazur/Getty
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Tempo Music Investments also included “Flowers” songwriters Gregory Hein and Michael Pollack — who wrote the track with the Hannah Montana alum — among multiple defendants, along with Sony Music Publishing and Apple. Mars, 38, was not named as a plaintiff in the filing.
In the documents, the investment platform alleged that it acquired “the copyright interests” of Mars’ hit — which was written by Mars, Lawrence, 44, Ari Levine and Andrew Wyatt — “in or around 2020.”
The complaint also claimed that “the opening vocal line from the chorus of ‘Flowers’ begins and ends on the same chords as the opening vocal line in the verse of ‘When I Was Your Man.’ “
In the suit, Tempo Music Investments requested the defendants listed stop reproducing, distributing or publicly performing “Flowers.” They were also seeking an undetermined amount of damages.
At the time, reps for Cyrus and Mars did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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