Surviving Beastie Boys Mike Diamond and Adam Horovitz are suing Monster Energy Drinks for going against their late bandmate Adam Yauch’s wishes – and using some of the band’s music in promotional materials.
Khaleej Times reports a suit was filed in US District Court in New York on Wednesday, claiming that Monster used the Beastie Boys’ hits in several promotional items without the band’s permission. Some of these included promotional videos posted on Monster’s website, along with a 23-minute medley of Beastie Boys’ songs made available for download as an mp3.
Claiming copyright infringement, Horovitz, Diamond, and even Yauch (who passed away from Cancer in May) are asking that Monster be immediately prohibited from using their material again and pay up “an amount in each case of not less than $150,000”. They are also asking for three times the profits that Monster obtained from the alleged infringements, plus interest, attorney’s fees and the costs of bringing the suit.
Monster allegedly used more than 20 of the band’s songs in various promotions, so if they lose the case, they could be forking out some serious dough.
As previously reported, Yauch explicitly banned his music from being used in advertisements in his will before he died.
“Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, in no event may my image or name or any music or any artistic property created by me be used for advertising purposes,” the will read, with the phrase “or any music or any artistic property created by me” added in handwriting.
