Bruno Mars’s name comes up in copyright litigation in three distinct contexts: an ongoing federal lawsuit alleging that Miley Cyrus’s 2023 hit “Flowers” copies his 2013 ballad “When I Was Your Man” (Mars is not a defendant), a cluster of “Uptown Funk” infringement claims from the mid-2010s that were all resolved through added songwriter credits or private settlements, and a 2017 suit brought against Mars personally by a photographer over a childhood image he posted to social media. Only the “Flowers” case remains active. As of mid-2026, a federal judge in California is weighing whether to end that case on summary judgment or send it to a jury.
The Flowers Lawsuit Over When I Was Your Man
Tempo Music Investments, a music-rights firm, sued Miley Cyrus on September 16, 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (Case No. 2:24-cv-07910).1PacerMonitor. Tempo Music Investments, LLC v. Miley Cyrus et al Tempo has standing to sue because in 2020 it acquired a share of the “When I Was Your Man” copyright from Philip Lawrence, one of the song’s four co-writers.2CB Insights. Tempo Music Company Profile
Bruno Mars is not a party. The defendants are Cyrus, her co-writers Gregory “Aldae” Hein and Michael Pollack, and a long list of publishers, distributors, and platforms including Sony Music Entertainment, Live Nation, Disney, and Apple Music.3Music Business Worldwide. Miley Cyrus Asks Court to Dismiss Flowers Copyright Case Mars is one of the four songwriters on “When I Was Your Man” and his catalog interest is being represented in the case only indirectly, through Lawrence’s transferred share.
What the Complaint Alleges
Tempo claims “Flowers” copies protected melodic, harmonic, and lyrical elements from “When I Was Your Man.”4Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law. Miley Cyrus Faces Lawsuit Over Flowers: Riff-Off or Rip-Off The complaint points to similar pitch sequences in the verse, shared chord progressions including a “circle of fifths” pattern, a connecting bass line, and a matching structural design.5UCI Podcast and Commentary on Law and Justice. Blooming Controversy: Miley Cyrus’ Flowers vs. Bruno Mars’ When I Was Your Man The most-cited parallel is lyrical: Mars sings “I should have bought you flowers,” and Cyrus sings “I can buy myself flowers.” Tempo’s musicologist Anthony Ricigliano and literary analyst Jeff Rovin submitted reports supporting the similarity claims.3Music Business Worldwide. Miley Cyrus Asks Court to Dismiss Flowers Copyright Case The suit seeks maximum statutory damages of $150,000 per infringement plus lost profits.
Cyrus’s Defense
Cyrus’s attorneys argue the alleged similarities are unprotectable musical building blocks, not copyrightable expression. They call the chord progression a “commonplace ‘circle of fifths,'” contend that pitch sequences on their own are not protectable, and describe the lyrical parallels as generic breakup-song tropes stated at too high a level of abstraction to warrant protection.6Yahoo Entertainment. Miley Cyrus’ Lawyers Bring Music Theory to the Fore3Music Business Worldwide. Miley Cyrus Asks Court to Dismiss Flowers Copyright Case
The defense also raises fair use, framing “Flowers” as a transformative “answer song” that comments on the perspective of “When I Was Your Man.” Where Mars expresses regret, Cyrus’s lyrics assert self-sufficiency. Under the 1994 Supreme Court ruling in Acuff-Rose v. Campbell, a work that comments on or critiques an original may qualify as parody and receive fair use protection.4Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law. Miley Cyrus Faces Lawsuit Over Flowers: Riff-Off or Rip-Off Her lawyers also note that Tempo’s own complaint alleges streams of “When I Was Your Man” rose nearly 20% after “Flowers” was released, which cuts against a finding of market harm.3Music Business Worldwide. Miley Cyrus Asks Court to Dismiss Flowers Copyright Case
Where the Case Stands in 2026
Cyrus moved to dismiss in November 2024, arguing Tempo lacked standing because it acquired Lawrence’s share without the other co-writers’ consent.7Variety. Miley Cyrus Denied Dismissal of Flowers Copyright Lawsuit On March 18, 2025, Judge Dean D. Pregerson denied the motion, ruling that a transferee “steps into Lawrence’s shoes” as a co-owner and can sue for infringement on its own.8Music Business Worldwide. Miley Cyrus Motion to Dismiss Copyright Lawsuit Over Flowers Denied by Court
The case was later reassigned to Judge Mónica Ramírez Almadani.1PacerMonitor. Tempo Music Investments, LLC v. Miley Cyrus et al On May 26, 2026, she heard oral arguments on the defendants’ motion for summary judgment and cross-motions to exclude expert testimony. Reporting from the hearing described her as “torn” on whether to grant summary judgment or send the case to a jury.9Bloomberg Law. Judge Signals Miley Cyrus Might Go to Trial in Flowers IP Suit On June 10, 2026, the court vacated all remaining pretrial and trial dates pending her rulings. No new trial date has been set.
The Uptown Funk Claims
Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson faced four separate copyright disputes over their 2014 hit “Uptown Funk.” None went to trial, and all resolved through added credits or settlements.
The Gap Band, “Oops Upside Your Head”
The publisher Minder Music filed a claim in February 2015 on behalf of the writers of the 1979 track “Oops Upside Your Head.” On April 28, 2015, five Gap Band-era writers were added to the credits of “Uptown Funk”: Charlie Wilson, Robert Wilson, Ronnie Wilson, Rudolph Taylor, and Lonnie Simmons. They received 17% of the song’s songwriter royalties.10Billboard. Uptown Funk Gains More Writers After Gap Band’s Legal Claim11Vulture. Ronson, Gap Band Settle Uptown Funk Claim
Collage, “Young Girls”
Members of the Minneapolis band Collage and the estates of deceased bandmates sued in October 2016 in the Central District of California, alleging infringement of their 1983 song “Young Girls.” The case settled in April 2018 with no financial component, according to industry reporting.12GW Law Music Copyright Infringement Resource. Yours, Mine and Ours v. Sony et al
Lastrada Entertainment, “More Bounce to the Ounce”
In fall 2017, Lastrada Entertainment sued on behalf of the copyright holders of Zapp’s 1980 track “More Bounce to the Ounce,” seeking damages and a permanent injunction that would have barred Ronson from performing “Uptown Funk” live. The case settled on June 22, 2018 on undisclosed terms.13Pitchfork. Mark Ronson Settles Uptown Funk Zapp Copyright Lawsuit
The Sequence, “Funk You Up”
The funk group The Sequence raised a claim that “Uptown Funk” borrowed from their 1979 track “Funk You Up.” The matter was dropped before any lawsuit was filed.12GW Law Music Copyright Infringement Resource. Yours, Mine and Ours v. Sony et al
The Catherine McGann Photograph Lawsuit
The one copyright case in which Bruno Mars himself was a defendant came from a photographer. In 2017, Catherine McGann sued Mars and Warner Music over a 1989 photograph she had taken of a young Mars performing as an Elvis Presley impersonator. Mars posted the image to Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for a “Way Back Wednesday” post in June 2017 without her permission; the Instagram post alone drew over 1.2 million likes.14PetaPixel. Bruno Mars Sued by Photographer for Sharing Childhood Photo McGann sought damages and any profits from the unauthorized use.15Remezcla. Bruno Mars 1989 Photo Lawsuit The outcome of the case is not available in public reporting.