Photo Credit: BTS ‘SWIM’ Live Clip II. (Swimming Pool Ver.) / YouTube
A copyright infringement lawsuit over BTS’ hit “Swim” has been withdrawn after only a few months, with the group of songwriters moving to dismiss.
A group of songwriters who filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Hybe over the BTS hit “Swim” has moved to dismiss their case after just four months. The lawsuit was filed in July by songwriters Steve Cooper, Jon Sandler, and Greylyn Johnson, alleging that the label (plus co-writer Ryan Tedder) had copied a 2025 demo of the same name.
The K-pop group released their hit song in March as the lead single from their comeback album, ARIRANG. The track debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100. But in July, three songwriters filed suit against the group’s record label, alleging that the song copied elements of their unreleased demo of the same name made a year prior.
They claimed that they had shown their demo to several music industry contacts, including executives at Artist Publishing Group, who they said shared it with people directly involved in creating the BTS track. The plaintiffs even hired a forensic musicologist who concluded that elements of the BTS song must have been copied from the songwriters’ original demo.
The lawsuit named Hybe, Hybe America, Big Hit Music, and several songwriters, including OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder. Notably, the members of BTS themselves were not named in the filing.
The songwriters are now trying to have their lawsuit dismissed, almost four months after it was filed. Their request to dismiss the suit in its entirety was filed on Wednesday. It’s unclear why the plaintiffs decided to withdraw their complaint or whether a settlement was reached.
At the time the case was filed, Big Hit Music denied the allegations. Neither side has responded to media requests for comment on the matter of the motion to dismiss.
Interestingly, similar copyright infringement lawsuits have been getting abruptly dropped in recent weeks, including one over Drake’s “Janice STFU,” which was withdrawn last week. It raises the question of whether major rights owners are firing back with a vengeance to settle or squash the barrage of lawsuits.
