Beastie Boys Awarded $1.7 Million in Copyright Case Against Monster Energy

A New York jury on Thursday awarded the surviving members of the Beastie Boys $1.7 million in a copyright case against Monster Energy drink.

Adam "Ad Rock" Horovitz and Michael "Mike D" Diamond appeared in a New York court last week seeking more than $2 million from Monster, which had used the Beastie Boys songs "Sabotage," "Make Some Noise" and "So What'cha Want" in the soundtrack for a video commemorating an annual snowboarding contest, Ruckus in the Rockies. The video was posted on YouTube.

While Monster acknowledged that it used the material without permission, the surviving members of the group — a third, Adam "MCA" Yauch, died in 2012 — claim that the $125,000 that the company was offering was way too low. Yauch's will stipulated that his name, music, image or "any artistic property created" by him should not be used for advertising. The $2 million Horovitz and Diamond were seeking included $1 million for use of the songs and another $1 million for an "implied endorsement." Read more...