The US Copyright Suit Over BTS' "Swim" Is Dropped

Disclosure: First Press operates independently but shares ownership ties with EG Management and LUSIVEX. EG Management is a US management company for international artists, in particular Asian and Korean artists, founded by Eshy Gazit, US managing partner for BTS from 2016 to 2018, working alongside Big Hit Entertainment, and US partner for Starship Entertainment since 2018, among others.

The three songwriters who said BTS' "Swim" copied their unreleased demo have dropped their US copyright lawsuit, about four months after they filed it. Attorneys for Steve Cooper, Jon Sandler and Greylyn Johnson asked the court to dismiss the entire case, Billboard reported, per Korea JoongAng Daily. Court documents did not say whether the two sides had settled, and neither side has made a statement.

The voluntary dismissal was filed on November 4 in the US District Court for the Central District of California. Judge Otis D. Wright II closed the case without prejudice the same day and vacated its remaining dates, according to Music Times, citing Music Business Worldwide's review of the filings. A dismissal without prejudice does not by itself stop the plaintiffs from bringing the claims again, the same report notes.

What the suit claimed

The complaint, filed in July, said the three writers finished a demo also called "Swim" in March 2025 and circulated it to industry contacts, including publishing groups, and that it later reached people who worked on the BTS song, per Korea JoongAng Daily. They cited an analysis by a musicologist they hired. They sought damages, an injunction and a share of the recording's profits, per Music Times. Those were allegations in a complaint, not findings by the court.

BTS and its members were not defendants. The suit named HYBE, HYBE America, BigHit Music, producer Ryan Tedder and other credited writers. RM is credited on the song but was not named. Music Business Worldwide, citing Sports Kyunghyang, reported that BigHit Music had already been dismissed from the case in September, per Music Times.

When the suit was filed, BigHit Music called it "nothing more than a one-sided claim by the plaintiffs" and said "'Swim' is an independently created work," per Korea JoongAng Daily.

The song itself

"Swim" is the lead single from ARIRANG, the group's fifth studio album, released in March. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, the group's seventh No. 1 there, per Korea JoongAng Daily. Its run on streaming is covered in BTS' "Swim" Passes 1 Billion Spotify Streams. Nothing in the November filings changes the song's release or its credits.

Why the venue matters

The case was filed in Los Angeles federal court and named HYBE America and a US producer alongside the Korean parent company. A K-pop single written with US collaborators sits inside the US rights system like any American record, and its disputes can land in a US courtroom. The group's first US campaign, and who ran it, is the subject of Who Broke BTS in America? The Record, Not the Myth.