(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Not Be The Victim Of Copyright Infringement!)
Hip-hop legends the Beastie Boys have emerged victorious in their lawsuit against Monster Beverage. The group was awarded $1.7 million after a court determined that the energy drink company infringed on the Beastie Boys’ copyright. Reportedly, the Beastie Boys were seeking in the neighbourhood of $2.5 million for copyright infringement and false endorsement.
The lawsuit emerged after Monster used snippets of classic Beastie Boys tunes (like “Sabotage”; and “So What’cha Want”;) for a promo video. It was also alleged that the company put together an mp3 medley of the group’s tracks on their website as downloadable content. Monster argued that while they did infringe on the trio’s copyright, they felt that $125,000 was the maximum they should be required to pay for their transgression.
“We will make an application to the Court to set aside the verdict and we intend to file an appeal,“; said Monster’s attorney Reid Kahn in an interview with Rolling Stone. “From the inception, Monster Energy has been willing to resolve this matter in a fair and equitable manner and we will continue to make additional efforts to reach a just resolution of this dispute.“
