14 DAY TRIAL // Score one for the artists! Rap band Beastie Boys has come out on top in their recent copyright infringement lawsuit against energy drink company Monster, over their unauthorized use of one of the band's songs in their commercials.
The two surviving members of the band, Adam “Ad Rock” Horovitz and Michael “Mike D” Diamond found out in federal court on Thursday, June 6 that they were awarded $1.7 million (€1.25 million) by a judge for copyright violation.
Along with the two surviving members of the band, part of the proceeds is going to go to the wife of the late Adam “MCA” Yaunch, the third member of the Beastie Boys. Horovitz is quoted as saying “The message is we are happy, and we want to thank the jury.”
The band sued Monster energy drink company for sampling five of their songs in its commercials, including their world-famous 1994 hit “Sabotage” without their consent, which, in their view, also added their endorsement to the company's products.
The boys are known for their reputation of not selling out their music, which makes their caustic response to the copyright infringement more understandable. They were appalled by the fact that the company even tied to make a profit out of the death of their band member by posting the words “RIP MCA” at the end of the credits of their production.
When the verdict was read, according to Page Six, Horovitz emotionally hugged his wife who was already in tears and then hugged Yaunch's widow, Dechen Wangdu. Yaunch died just a few days before the Monster Energy drink event, at age 47, after a three-year bout with cancer.
Monster lawyers have said that they are going to appeal the decision. The company initially acknowledged the copyright infringement but declined to pay the initial two million dollars requested by the musicians and offered instead to pay up to a quarter million dollars.
The company argued that the retribution for the damages should be proportional to the number of people who saw the offending video. They claimed that only 13,000 people saw the clip in question before it was pulled off YouTube.
The jury is said to have deliberated for a full day before awarding the $1.7 million (€1.25 million) to the Beasties Boys. Out of that money, half a million represents the liability claim for false endorsement and the rest for the unauthorized use of the band's songs for commercial purposes.