Home / Arts and Entertainment / Accusers Withdraw Lawsuit Over BTS Song 'Swim'
Accusers Withdraw Lawsuit Over BTS Song 'Swim'
4 Nov
Summary
- Lawsuit claiming BTS' 'Swim' copied demo is now dropped.
- Accusers filed the case in July, alleging substantial similarities.
- The lawsuit was dismissed less than four months later.
A lawsuit alleging that BTS' chart-topping song "Swim" was substantially similar to an unpublished demo has been dismissed. The accusers, three songwriters, had filed the copyright infringement case in July 2026 against BTS' label, HYBE, and its subsidiaries. They claimed the hit song, which debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100, "copied in very large part" from their demo.
Attorneys for the accusers, Steve Cooper, Jon Sandler, and Greylyn Johnson, formally asked the judge to dismiss the lawsuit on Wednesday, November 4, 2026. This withdrawal occurred less than four months after the initial filing and while the case was still in its preliminary stages, with HYBE's legal team not yet having formally responded.
It is not clear from court documents if a settlement was reached between the parties. The accusers had previously stated that a forensic musicologist concluded numerous elements were "unequivocally taken" from their demo, which they had reportedly sent to various parties in March 2025. The lawsuit did not name BTS or its members as defendants but targeted the label and the songwriters involved in creating "Swim."
