BTS 'Swim' copyright lawsuit ends with plaintiff's voluntary withdrawal

The U.S. copyright infringement lawsuit surrounding BTS’s fifth studio album title track ″SWIM″ was resolved with the plaintiff’s voluntary dismissal. American composers Steve Cooper, John Sandler, and Graylin Johnson filed a lawsuit on July 8 in the Central District Court of California, claiming similarities between their unpublished demo completed in March last year and ″SWIM.″ They submitted an analysis by a musicologist citing similarities in melody, harmony, rhythm, and lyrics, demanding damages, prohibition of the song’s use, and distribution of copyright revenue. They also suggested that their demo had been shared with several music industry insiders and possibly passed on to BTS’s production team during this process. BigHit Music denied the plagiarism allegations, stating that ″’SWIM’ is an independently created song.″ The lawsuit named HYBE, HYBE America, BigHit Music, and the composers involved in the production of ″SWIM″ as defendants. The lawsuit concluded in about four months after the plaintiffs first withdrew the lawsuit against BigHit Music on September 28 and then filed documents on November 4 (local time) dismissing all claims against all defendants. Meanwhile, another U.S. copyright lawsuit related to BTS was recently closed. Melissa Mays filed a lawsuit in August against BTS and HYBE, among others, alleging unauthorized use of her unpublished song, but the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia dismissed the initial complaint on September 18 and issued a final dismissal on October 22, ruling that the amended complaint also failed to meet legal requirements. BTS’s ″SWIM″ reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and was selected as Song of the Year at the 2026 MTV VMA.