BTS’ title track “Swim” from the group’s fifth full-length album ‘ARIRANG‘ has become the subject of a copyright infringement lawsuit in the United States.
According to reports published on July 9 by Billboard and Music Business Worldwide (MBW), songwriters Steve Cooper, Jon Sandler, and Graylin Johnson filed a lawsuit on July 8 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against HYBE, HYBE America, BigHit Music, and several of the song’s credited writers.
The plaintiffs allege that “Swim” unlawfully incorporated key elements from an unreleased demo they had created without obtaining permission.
According to the complaint obtained by Music Business Worldwide, the three songwriters began working on the demo in early 2025 and completed a recording in March of that year. They said they shared the track with multiple music industry professionals, including representatives from a U.S.-based music company, Artist Publishing Group (APG), through the music-sharing platform DISCO.
The plaintiffs claim it is possible that the demo was passed through APG and ultimately reached the songwriters involved in creating BTS’s “Swim.”
Named as defendants are HYBE, HYBE America, BigHit Music, as well as “Swim” co-writers Derek Milano, James Essien, and Ryan Tedder. BTS members themselves were not named as defendants, nor were RM, who participated in songwriting, or producer Pdogg.
The plaintiffs also commissioned musicologist Alexander Stewart to conduct a comparative analysis of the two songs. In a preliminary report cited in the lawsuit, Stewart concluded that the similarities between the works were significant enough that it would be difficult to view them as independently created, adding that the possibility that one song referenced the other could not be ruled out.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction preventing further exploitation of “Swim,” along with monetary damages and the disgorgement of profits. Alternatively, the plaintiffs are asking the court to recognize them as co-writers of the song and award them a share of its copyright royalties.
The allegations will be examined during future court proceedings.
Responding to the lawsuit on July 10, BigHit Music denied the claims. “These are merely unilateral allegations made by the plaintiffs. We clearly maintain that ‘Swim’ is an independently created work,” the company said. “We will respond firmly through the legal process.”
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