Nov 02, 2026 2:09pm IST
BTS Wins Lawsuit in ‘SWIM’ Copyright Dispute Over Insufficient Evidence
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia officially dismissed the copyright infringement complaint against BTS regarding the song 'SWIM'. The court issued a ruling in favor of BTS, HYBE, HYBE America and BIGHIT MUSIC, the defendants, on October 22 in the case filed by Melissa Mays. The suit was filed back in August with a claim that the group had used her song without her permission.
A U.S. court judge gave an opportunity to the plaintiff to amend the filing by October 9 after initially dismissing it in September as it did not contain legally viable claims. When the revised complaint was submitted on October 8, the court dismissed it once again on grounds of insufficient evidence.
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In another complaint, songwriters Steve Cooper, Jon Sandler, and Greylyn Johnson filed a federal copyright infringement lawsuit on July 8, 2026, against HYBE, BIGHIT MUSIC, HYBE America, and co-writers (including Ryan Tedder), alleging that the title song copied an unreleased demo of the same name created by them in March 2025. Their evidence includes a report by musicologist Alexander Stewart, which presents similarities between the two. The BTS members have not been named in the California case.
Meanwhile, the septet is currently on the ARIRANG World Tour. With 14 shows in South America, all sold out with a reported 853,000 fans in attendance. The group will then set out for gigs in Asia to close out the year.
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