Miley Cyrus and her legal team filed a response on Wednesday, over the infringement copyright lawsuit claiming that her mega-hit “Flowers,” has a striking resemblance to Bruno Mars’ song “When I Was Your Man.”
The singer highlighted one “fatal flaw” over the lawsuit filed against her: that Mars and his other co-writers weren't the ones who filed to sue the former. Cyrus highlighted how the case was lodged by an investment fund group called Tempo Music Investments. The said entity bought out the rights of Mars’ song to one of his co-writers.
This is the first time that the singer responded to the allegations made since the time of its filing in September. Her attorneys demanded the outright dismissal of the lawsuit as they pointed to Mars and his other co-writers’ lack of involvement on the matter.
"Plaintiff unambiguously [says] that it obtained its claimed rights in the ‘When I Was Your Man’ copyright from only one of that musical composition’s four co-authors. That is a fatal and incurable defect in plaintiff’s claim,” the document from Cyrus’ attorneys said.
Additionally, the singer's attorneys argued that Tempo's acquisition of a ‘partial interest’ from the songwriter gave the company non-exclusive rights to the song. However, under the U.S. legal system, the accusers won't have the right to sue unless the owners give them their consent.
“Flowers” was released in the beginning of 2023, where fans saw the song an a response to her divorce with ex-husband Liam Hemsworth. Internet sleuths claim that the song is referenced to Mars’ single “When I Was Your Man,” one of Hemsworth's favorite songs.
Earlier this year, the mega-hit song won the Grammy for ‘Record of the Year,’ and became the second biggest song of 2024.
