Adam Horovitz and Mike D in 2013. (Getty)
The late Adam "MCA" Yauch made sure he wouldn't ever become a corporate shill—in his will, the Beastie Boy stated that "his image, music and any art he created could not be used for advertising." At the time details of his will were made public, the Beastie Boys were already fighting the makers of Monster energy drink in a Manhattan courtroom, after the corporation allegedly stole their songs to use for promotional reasons. And now they may be headed back to court.
According to Rolling Stone, the two sides "will likely head back to the courtroom this year after the band filed another suit asking for $2.4 million more in restitution. Although a court ruled in favor of the Beastie Boys and a jury awarded them $1.7 million in June 2014, the group claims they lost money after ringing up a large lawyer tab due to Monster's evasive legal techniques."
Their legal team filed over the weekend, and stated that: "Monster's tactics significantly increased the costs for Beastie Boys to vindicate their intellectual property rights, such that, absent an award of attorney's fees and costs, plaintiff's success at trial would become a Pyrrhic victory."
Monster used bits of "Sabotage," "So What'cha Want," Make Some Noise" and "Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun" in a promo video that lived online for five weeks. According to the Guardian, the company "admitted to infringing on the Beastie Boys’ work, arguing that it had been an honest mistake. The brand hired DJ Z-Trip to play at a Monster-sponsored party, which featured a five-song Beastie Boys megamix they erroneously believed that they owned the rights to." They previously stated they owed no more than $125,000 for this.
This isn't the first fire the Beastie Boys have had to put out, in 2013 they sued Goldieblox for using their song "Girls," alleging "oppression, fraud, and malice." This was after Goldieblox filed a pre-emptive lawsuit against the group, seeking injunctive relief against a perceived threat of copyright infringement lawsuit.
