A copyright lawsuit alleging that BTS’ song “Swim” copied an unpublished demo has been dropped by the three songwriters who brought the case. Their attorneys asked a judge on Wednesday, Nov. 4, to dismiss the lawsuit in its entirety, less than four months after it was filed against BTS label HYBE.
The July complaint said “Swim,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this spring as the lead track from ARIRANG, shared substantial similarities with an unpublished demo of the same name by Steve Cooper, Jon Sandler and Greylyn Johnson.
The songwriters alleged they circulated copies of their demo in March 2025 for consideration by various parties. They claimed executives at Artist Publishing Group listened to it and shared it with others, including some of the songwriters who later worked on “Swim.” The trio also said a forensic musicologist compared the tracks and concluded that elements of the BTS song were taken from their demo.
The complaint did not name BTS or its members as defendants. It targeted HYBE, its subsidiaries HYBE America and Big Hit Music Co., and songwriters behind “Swim,” including Ryan Tedder.
Court documents did not indicate whether the parties had reached a settlement. Neither side immediately responded to requests for comment. The case was still at an early stage, and HYBE’s attorneys had not formally responded to the complaint.
Sources: Billboard.