Adam Yauch
It was reported only last week that Adam “MCA” Yauch, one of the founding members of seminal hip-hop group the Beastie Boys, had put some rather stringent demands in his will with regards to how his music should live on after him. He’d made it clear that he did not want any of his work used in ads after he was gone (Yauch died of cancer in May).
It didn’t take long for that news to resurface with the word “lawsuit” attached. Variety reports that the Beastie Boys, alongside Yauch’s estate, are filing a copyright claim against Monster Energy Drink.
At issue are videos produced by Monster for Ruckus in the Rockies, an event it sponsored in Alberta. Twenty six songs are named in the lawsuit in conjunction with a series of promotional videos and a “mega mix” video of the group’s work.
You can read the 23-page complaint here.
Spin picked up the story and, after leafing through those 23 pages, wrote:
“One part of the suit reads, “The text accompanying Monster’s internet postings, video and MP3 conveyed to consumers the impression that Beastie Boys permitted the use of their name and intellectual property, and participated in connection with Monster’s promotion of its products and events.” Moreover, it says, the Beastie Boys believe and allege Monster infringed on their copyrights “with a willful disregard of the harm to” the group and it did it “willfully, maliciously, and oppressively.”
