The messy legal tug of war between the Beastie Boys and Goldieblox, the ‘feminist’ toymakers that used a parody version of the hip hop trio’s ‘Girls’ for an advertisement that went viral, has reached a new head.
Despite an 11th hour laurel wreath from the US startup defending its use of the Licensed To Ill track as ‘fair use’, in the form of an open letter from Goldieblox addressed to surviving Beasties Adam ‘Ad-Rock’ Horowitz and Michael ‘Mike D’ Diamond, saying they’d be willing to drop the lawsuit while removing the offending ad, Horowitz and Diamond’s legal team have now filed a counter lawsuit, as The New York Times reports.
In a suit failed in California this week, the Beastie Boys claim that the toymakers have “engaged in the systematic infringement of intellectual property” saying that the popular online Goldieblox video – that refashioned ‘Girls’ into a feminist anthem – constituted “copyright infringement and is not fair use,” turning the group’s music into a “‘jingle’ to sell Goldieblox’s products.”
Adding that the company “has acted intentionally and despicably with oppression, fraud, and malice toward the Beastie Boys Parties.” The suit also cites previous examples of Goldieblox parodying songs, including Queen and Daft Punk, without seeking permission.
Goldieblox claims that the re-jigged version of the 1987 Beasties original – which went viral and racked up millions of views for its re-worked lyrics designed to encourage creativity and the breaking of gender stereotypes – was exempt from copyright infringement on the grounds of ‘fair use‘ of it being a satire.
The toy company then filed a pre-emptive lawsuit against the Beastie Boys – along with producer Rick Rubin, label Def Jam Music Group, and publishers Sony/ATV – allegedly in response to threats from the band’s legal team, unhappy with the use of the song and acting on the last wishes of Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch, whose last will and testament contains a clause to ensure his musical legacy was not misused for “advertising purposes.” “When we tried to simply ask how and why our song ‘Girls’ had been used in your ad without our permission, YOU sued US.”
Horowitz and Diamond then responded to Goldieblox’s public plea to call off the legal team with an open letter of their own, as NME reports. “Like many of the millions of people who have seen your toy commercial… we were very impressed by the creativity and the message behind your ad,” begins the statement, which goes on to applaud its stereotype-busting aims, but adds: “make no mistake, your video is an advertisement that is designed to sell a product, and long ago, we made a conscious decision not to permit our music and/or name to be used in product ads.”
Adding that: “When we tried to simply ask how and why our song ‘Girls’ had been used in your ad without our permission, YOU sued US.”
The Beastie Boys’ new lawsuit (which you can view in full here legal eagles), follows similar sentiments. “Goldieblox achieved and continues to achieve additional publicity, press coverage, and, upon information and belief, greater sales of its products, as a direct result of the Beastie Boys’ perceived affiliation with the Goldieblox Advertisement,” the suit reads.
“Unfortunately, rather than developing an original advertising campaign to inspire its customers to create and innovate, Goldieblox has instead developed an advertising campaign that condones and encourages stealing from others.”
The duo maintain that the toymakers’ conduct has been “intentional and wilful,” and believe they are “entitled to recover from Goldieblox the damages and lost profits [Beastie Boys] have sustained as a result of Goldieblox’s unlawful acts of copyright infringement.”
GoldiBlox’s lawyer, Daralyn Durie, said in a statement that her firm were reviewing the Beastie Boys latest lawsuit, remarking “although the ad has been taken down and we would prefer an amicable resolution, we strongly believe that the parody constitutes fair use.”
