Monster Energy Loses Copyright Case Against Beastie Boys

Remaining Beastie Boys members Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz and Michael “mike D” Diamond won a lawsuit against Monster Energy Drink that had awarded them $1.7 million in a Jury verdict last summer and now awards them another $668,000 in legal fees after a failed Monster Energy appeal.

The Beastie Boys pulled out all the legal stops against Monster in a copyright case in which Monster used several Beastie Boys songs in a series of online videos without the group’s consent.

U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer wrote:

“Presiding over trial and hearing the surviving Beastie Boys’ testimony, it was apparent to the court that this case had great personal significance to them,” he said. “Monster’s commercial exploitation of the band’s music and songs, and what the Beastie Boys perceived as Monster’s crass misappropriation of the name of the recently deceased Yauch in its video promoting its energy drinks, appeared to have deeply offended plaintiffs.”

Via AP Online