The Beastie Boys are suing Brinker International, owner of 30 Chili’s Grill & Bar locations in New York, for copyright and trademark infringement.
The lawsuit comes after Chile released an ad parodying the rap group’s 1994 hit “Sabotage” and its 1970 video directed by Spike Jonze.
The lawsuit alleges that the ad, which features “three characters wearing distinctly 1970s-style wigs, fake mustaches and sunglasses,” was clearly “intended to portray all three members of the Beastie Boys: Adam “Ad-Rock” Horowitz, Michael “Mike D.” Diamond and the late Adam “MCA” Yauch.”
“The use of the sound recording, musical composition and video for ‘Sabotage’ was made without permission,” the suit states. In the suit, the group says it does not license “Sabotage” or any of its intellectual property for the purpose of promoting third-party products, and claims the ad creates a false impression that it is authorized to do so.
The suit seeks $150,000 in damages for each instance of copyright infringement, attorneys’ fees and three times the profits from any misrepresentation. The group also demanded that Brinker remove the ad from circulation and never use its music or images again.
The Beastie Boys tend to hate commercial licensing. Yauch’s will prohibits the use of his image, music and art in any form of product promotion.
If successful, it would be the third time in recent years that the Beastie Boys have won against a company for unlicensed use of their music. In 2013, they won against toy company GoldieBlox after the company parodied the 1987 song “Girls” in an ad. The company apologized and donated to charity.
In 2014, the Beastie Boys sued the makers of Monster Energy Drink for $1.7 million over the use of their music videos for songs including “Sabotage,” “So What’cha Want,” “Make Some Noise,” and “Looking Down the Barrel of aa.” earned $1. Gun” in a promotional video and free download without the band’s permission.
