Beastie Boys Awarded 1.7 Million In Copyright Lawsuit

Posted 06 Jun 2014 in Artist News, General News, Music, News

Last week we reported on the lawsuit filed by the Beastie Boys against the Monster Energy Drink company for copyright infringement for the use of some of their songs in an advertisement. The verdict is in and the Beasties were awarded a nice sum of money.

The Beastie Boys were awarded $1.7 million in the copyright infringement lawsuit against Monster Energy Drink.

There was initially some back and forth between the Beastie Boys and Monster regarding the amount of damages being requested. The B-boys filed suit for $2.5 million while Monster countered saying that they were only owed $125,000. Monster even admitted to infringing on the group’s copyrights but said that the case wasn’t logical and that it was an honest mistake made by an employee.

Monster released the following statement regarding the suit.

We will make an application to the Court to set aside the verdict and we intend to file an appeal. 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.

This case seems to stem from a misinterpretation of the word ‘Dope’. We’ll keep you posted if any new info comes out about a reduced settlement.

The Beastie Boys representatives did not release any statement after the trial however the press did catch up with Ad Rock who kept his response brief. Ad Rock said:

We’re happy. We just want to thank the jury.

We aren’t sure if the Beastie Boys will continue making music, although its unlikely with such an important member of the trio no longer with us you never know. Stay tuned for more info as this story continues to unfold.

What are you thoughts? Should the band be able to keep the full amount of the settlement or do you think that a judge will give in to Monster and reduce the final price tag that they owe.

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