Songwriter Aviel Calev Hirschfield has voluntarily withdrawn his copyright lawsuit against Drake over the chorus of "Janice STFU," ending the case just eleven days after he filed it. The dismissal came without any ruling on the merits, so the central question of whether the chorus was copied remains unanswered.
What the dismissal means
Hirschfield filed the complaint on Oct. 16 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, naming Drake (Aubrey Drake Graham), OVO Sound, UMG Recordings and Universal Music Publishing as defendants. A notice of dismissal submitted Oct. 27 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a) withdrew the action entirely and without prejudice. That phrasing means Hirschfield is not barred from refiling the same claims later. The filing gave no reason for the withdrawal, and his attorney declined to comment when reached by outlets. Drake's representatives have not issued a new statement.
The allegations in the original complaint
Hirschfield, who records as GoodbyeCalev, argued that the eight-line chorus of "Janice STFU" is "literally identical" in lyrics, melody and cadence to a demo he wrote and recorded between December 2025 and January 2026. He said he finished the recording in his Portland, Oregon home studio around Jan. 25, over an instrumental from production duo FnZ, and sent it to FnZ and other producers in Drake's circle without receiving a reply. When the track Iceman arrived on May 15, he said he recognized the same chorus roughly 15 seconds in. The complaint also said his manager supplied stems with intact metadata to support the timeline, and that Drake's side still refused credit or publishing and accused him of altering the files.
Both Hirschfield's demo and the released song interpolate Lykke Li's 2011 track "I Follow Rivers." Hirschfield had previously shared writing and production credits with Drake on Beyoncé's 2022 track "Heated." A recording matching the court exhibit later circulated online.
Drake's response and the commercial stakes
Drake's team rejected the claims the day the suit was filed. A representative told TMZ and other outlets that the allegations were "categorically, unequivocally, and completely denied," calling the lawsuit a "manufactured and baseless attempt" to exploit Drake's name and success. "Janice STFU" has been one of Drake's strongest commercial releases in years, spending multiple weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and an extended run at No. 1 on Hot Rap Songs. FnZ receive production and writing credits on the released version. Hirschfield registered his work as unpublished effective July 21, 2026, a detail that would have limited certain statutory damages remedies had the case continued.
What remains unresolved
Because the case ended without a ruling, no court has determined whether the chorus was copied. The brief duration of the suit and its without-prejudice outcome remove the immediate claim on the song's profits while leaving the underlying dispute open to future litigation.