Almost three years after filing suit against Monster Energy for a copyright violation, the Beastie Boys just got another payout in the case they won last June. The group's complaint and ensuing law suit stemmed from the release of a Monster promo video from 2012 that included several songs from their catalog, including "So What'cha Want," "Make Some Noise," "Sabotage," and more. Monster used audio from a DJ Z-Trip set at one of their festivals that featured Beastie Boys music for the video and then released the song medley as a downloadable MP3 on their website, all without permission from the group itself.
In June of 2014 a jury agreed with the Boys that Monster infringed upon their famously-guarded copyright and the group received a $1.7 million settlement as a result. Last night, the AP released news that a U.S. district judge had granted the Beastie Boys an attorney fee award that will require Monster to pay $668,000 of the group's legal expenses. The group was seeking $2.4 million from Monster for the legal fees they racked up during the case but the judge maintains that they'll still come out ahead with his approved award.
"It was apparent to the court that this case had great personal significance to them," Judge Paul Engelmayer wrote. "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."
Group member Adam "MCA" Yauch, who passed away in May of 2012, issued instructions in his will that neither his music or likeness could ever be used in any advertisements.
