NewJeans, their label ADOR and parent company HYBE are facing a copyright infringement lawsuit in the United States over their 2023 single ETA, the second such suit against them in two months. New York publisher All Surface Publishing, filing in the US District Court for the Central District of California on 7 July, alleges that ETA reproduced key musical elements from Samir's Theme, a 2005 Baltimore club track by DJ Debonair Samir, without a licence. The claim matters because it adds to mounting legal pressure on the group and its label at a time when their commercial success and internal disputes are already under intense scrutiny.

All Surface says ETA is "virtually identical" to its composition in its syncopated horn line, bass drum pattern and rhythmic structure, a resemblance critics at Pitchfork and Paste noted back in 2023. The suit names all five NewJeans members, along with UMG Recordings, Sony Music Publishing, Concord, Peermusic, producer 250 and Apple, which is accused of prominently featuring the track in advertising campaigns. ETA reached No. 81 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has surpassed 470 million Spotify streams; All Surface, which sent an unheeded cease-and-desist in June, seeks a share of profits, an order barring further use, and possible statutory damages of up to USD $150,000. The filing echoes a separate May lawsuit over the 2024 single How Sweet, and lands amid NewJeans' ongoing contractual battle with ADOR.