Lawyers representing Miley Cyrus have firmly denied claims that her hit song Flowers infringes on the copyright of Bruno MarsWhen I Was Your Man.

According to court documents reviewed by Entertainment Weekly, Cyrus’ legal team has pushed back against allegations filed by Tempo Music Investments, which owns a partial interest in When I Was Your Man. Tempo claims that Flowers unlawfully copies elements of Mars’ song and went on to become a chart-topping, Grammy-winning hit.

In a response submitted to the court, Cyrus’ lawyers argued that a qualified music expert is required to conduct a proper analysis and comparison of the two songs. They further challenged Tempo’s legal standing, noting that the company only controls a share of the song’s publishing rights after acquiring the catalog of co-writer Philip Lawrence. Tempo has no direct affiliation with Bruno Mars or the other co-writers, Ari Levine and Andrew Wyatt.

Because Tempo represents only one of multiple songwriters, Cyrus’ attorneys argued that the company “does not possess exclusive rights and therefore lacks legal standing to bring a copyright infringement claim.” Lawyers for both Cyrus and Tempo declined to comment when contacted by Entertainment Weekly.

In its lawsuit, Tempo asserted that “given the combination and number of similarities between the two recordings, Flowers would not exist without When I Was Your Man,” alleging that Cyrus’ song repeats melodic, harmonic, and lyrical elements from Mars’ track.

Released in January 2023, Flowers was immediately compared by listeners to When I Was Your Man, particularly due to its lyrics. In Flowers, Cyrus sings about independence and self-love, while Mars’ song expresses regret over failing to appreciate a former partner—two perspectives that many fans noted felt like emotional opposites.

Previously, in a May 2023 interview with British Vogue, Cyrus addressed the creative process behind Flowers, explaining that she originally wrote the song very differently. She revealed that an early version of the chorus included the line, “I can buy myself flowers, write my name in the sand, but I can’t love me better than you can.”

She described that original draft as “very 1950s” and “the saddest song you could imagine,” adding that it conveyed the idea: “Sure, I can love myself, but you still do it better.”