Miley Cyrus Sued for Copyright Infringement Over “Flowers”
If you’ve ever heard Miley Cyrus’ pop hit “Flowers,” which recently won a Grammy award, you may notice that some of the lyrics are similar. Cyrus released the song in January 2023 after divorcing her husband, Liam Hemsworth. However, some of the words, particularly in the chorus, have similarities to the Bruno Mars song “When I Was Your Man,” which was released in 2012.
To compare, in Bruno Mars’ song, he sings, “I should have bought you flowers/and held your hand.” In Miley Cyrus’ song, she sings “I can buy myself flowers” and “I can hold my own hand.” Cyrus’ song is considered to be more of a response to Mars’ song rather than a direct copy. “Flowers’ became a hugely popular song that stayed at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart for eight weeks.
However, Tempo Music Investments is coming after Miley Cyrus, suing her for copyright infringement. The lawsuit was filed in mid-September, with Tempo Music Investments stating that it owns the copyright interests to “When I Was Your Man.” The company allegedly acquired these interests from Philip Lawrence, who co-wrote the song with Bruno Mars, Ari Levine and Andrew Wyatt. However, Mars is not part of the lawsuit.
The lawsuit states that the two songs share the same “musical fingerprint.” “Flowers” duplicates many of the melodic, harmonic, and lyrical elements found in “When I Was Your Man.” The songs have the same melodic pitch design and sequence of the verse. The connecting bass-line, certain bars of the chorus, lyric elements, and specific chord progressions are also similar. Tempo Music Investments provided the court with examples of sheet music and lyrics from both songs as evidence. The suit claims that “Flowers” would not exist without “When I Was Your Man.”
Songwriters Gregory Hein and Michael Pollack, who wrote “Flowers,” are also named in the case, as are Sony Music Publishing, Apple, Walmart, and Target for distributing the song. It is believed that Cyrus, Hein, and Pollack have created a derivative work of “When I Was Your Man” without authorization.
Tempo Music Investments is asking that Cyrus be barred from distributing, reproducing and publicly performing her song. The company is also requesting an unknown amount of damages.
Cyrus could possibly argue that she’s protected by fair use, which provides protection for the use of copyrighted material to make a secondary work if it’s “transformative.”
Learn More About Copyright Infringement
Copyright infringement can be tricky. While some of the lyrics may be the same, is “Flowers” a copy of “When I Was Your Man?” Only the court can tell.
Has your work been infringed upon without your permission? Contact Orlando trademark & copyright lawyer B.F. Godfrey from Godfrey Legal. Regardless of the type of business or intellectual property you wish to protect, we can help. Discuss your concerns and needs with us today. Schedule a consultation by filling out the online form or calling (407) 890-0023.
Source:
wfla.com/news/national/lawsuit-accuses-miley-cyrus-of-copyright-infringement-over-hit-song-flowers/
