The surviving members of the Beastie Boys appeared in a New York courtroom Tuesday as the trial for their $2 million lawsuit against Monster Beverage Corp. has finally begun. The group is suing the company over the use of one of their songs in a 2012 advertisement.
The group had taken a stand against allowing their music to be used in commercials. Even the will of Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch, who died in May 2012, makes it clear that their music cannot be used for commercial purposes. According to Reuters, their lawyer, Paul Garrity, Monster “stole” their rights to turn companies down.
Billboard reports that the commercial at the center of the case ran in Canada and featured a mix of five Beastie Boys songs. The video even featured a “RIP MCA” message towards the end.
The group is suing for $1 million in damages related to using their songs without a licence and another $1 million for implying that they endorsed the drink when they had not. While the defense did agree that they had infringed on the Beastie Boys’ work, they said the damages claim is “nonsense.” They said they will try to prove that the damages only reached $125,000.
During the first day of the trial, both Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz and Michael "Mike D" Diamond took the stand. Yauch’s widow, Dechen Wangdu, was also there.
image courtesy of Trevor Kent/INFGoff.com