Following news that Adam Yauch's will prohibits the use of Beastie Boys material in advertisements, the group sued the maker of Monster Energy Drink for copyright infringement for using the band's songs without permission, according to E! Online.
In a suit filed yesterday in New York federal court by Mike Diamond, Adam Horovitz and Denchen Yauch, Yauch's widow and the executor of his estate, the Beastie Boys claim that Monster included parts of "Sabotage," "So Whatcha Want," Make Some Noise" and "Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun" in a promotional video posted on Monster's website, along with a 23-minute medley of Beastie Boys songs made available for download as an mp3. The songs were taken from footage of a live set by DJ Z-Trip at the Monster-sponsored Canadian festival Ruckus in the Rockies, held a few days after Yauch died in May.
Because of Monster's unauthorized use of the Beastie Boys' music, the complaint says, "the public was confused into believing that plaintiffs sponsored, endorsed and are associated with defendant Monster in promoting defendant Monster's productions and promotional events." The band claims that Monster's use of its music will cause "irreparable damage" and seeks the removal of the video and mp3 from Monster's website and unspecified monetary damages.
Adam Yauch died on May 4th of cancer. He was 47.
Rollingstone