A federal judge has denied a dismissal motion in Tempo Music Investments' copyright infringement lawsuit against Miley Cyrus' "Flowers," which claims unauthorized use of Bruno Mars' "When I Was Your Man."

The lawsuit, filed in September 2024, continues after Judge Dean Pregerson rejected the defendants' argument that Tempo Music lacked standing to sue. The defendants had claimed that as an assignee of a single co-author, Tempo didn't possess exclusive rights necessary for an infringement claim.

Judge Pregerson ruled this position "incorrect," stating that when a co-owner transfers their interest, "the transferee stands in the shoes of the transferor, making the transferee a co-owner in the copyright." Since Tempo purchased rights from co-writer Philip Lawrence in 2020, they maintain the legal standing to pursue infringement claims.

Key defendants in the case include:

• Miley Cyrus
• Warner-Tamerlane Publishing
• Deezer (controlled by Warner Music Group parent Access Industries)
• Sony Music Publishing
• Concord
• iHeartMedia
• Live Nation
• Walmart
• Xandrie (Qobuz parent)

The next phase requires formal responses from defendants, with Deezer's answer due by April 9th and Xandrie's by March 26th.

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