HYBE is now defending its third U.S. copyright lawsuit in two months, with the K-pop giant and BTS writers accused of lifting core elements from an unpublished demo for the group’s No. 1 hit “Swim.” The filing, lodged in California federal court on July 8, targets the label’s publishing and royalty exposure while threatening potential injunctions that could halt distribution of the track.
Plaintiffs Demand Credits and Injunction Against Distribution
Three Los Angeles songwriters—Steve Cooper, Jon Sandler, and Greylyn Johnson—filed the complaint in the US District Court for the Central District of California, alleging “Swim” copied their unreleased demo of the same name. The suit names HYBE, Hive America, Big Hit Music, and co-writers Derek Milano, James SCen, and Ryan Tedder as defendants. Cooper, Sandler, and Johnson claim they circulated their demo to industry contacts, including those linked to Artist Publishing Group, which represents Derek Gray (also known as Derek Milano).
The plaintiffs are seeking a permanent injunction to stop further use, distribution, licensing, streaming, and exploitation of “Swim,” alongside demands for damages, an accounting of profits, correction of songwriting credits, and recognition as co-copyright owners. They also request the destruction or surrender of infringing copies under the Copyright Act. The complaint asserts the plaintiffs’ claims are one-sided and that nothing has been proven yet; allegations must be tested in court.
Third HYBE Copyright Case in Two Months Raises Industry Watch
This filing marks the third U.S. copyright complaint against HYBE in just two months, following a separate infringement suit over NewJeans’ “ETA” filed by All Surface Publishing in early July. The “ETA” case claims the 2023 track stole elements from an instrumental dance track called “Samir’s Theme” released nearly two decades earlier.
Music industry observers are closely monitoring the “Swim” lawsuit due to the track’s commercial scale: it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 as the lead single from BTS’s ARIRANG album and spent 15 weeks on the chart [source text]. The plaintiffs retained musicologist Alexander Stewart, who previously authored expert reports in high-profile copyright cases against Ed Sheeran (over Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On”) and Led Zeppelin (over “Stairway to Heaven”) [source text]. In both prior cases, juries rejected the infringement claims [source text].
For labels, publishers, and rights holders, the case the growing risk of demo-based infringement claims tied to chart-topping releases. Radio programmers and streaming platforms may face operational uncertainty if an injunction is granted, while songwriters now have a clearer legal pathway to demand co-ownership credits and royalty recoupment when unpublished material is allegedly repurposed.
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