Fanatics of pop-culture litigations, buckle up, as I’m about to infuse your TMT with some TMZ and talk about some courts that aren’t Parquet!
Readers with too much time on their hands will remember back in August 2012 when the Beastie Boys accused Monster Energy Drink of doing a little “Rhymin’ and Stealin’” of their own (minus the rhymin’) when the company used several Beastie Boys songs in a promo video without the band’s permission. Alas, we ended up with an almost two-year-long legal dispute that made it impossible for 20-year-old college guys to pick sides. Over those 22 months, the tone of the case ranged from sad (late Beastie Boys member Adam Yauch’s will forbids the band’s music from being used for ad purposes) to a level of absurdity only a Monster Energy Drink lawsuit could provide (i.e. the court debating the legal definition of the phrase “Dope!”).
Well, the jury has finally spoken, and they’ve awarded surviving members Ad-Rock and Mike D $1.7 million in damages. Think of all the energy supplements they can buy… ginseng, taurine, L-carnitine, Listerine, the possibilities are endless! Understandably, Monster’s attorney (who is disappointingly not named something like Këëthe) is upset, saying (text in brackets added on my own to maintain brand guidelines), “Although Monster Energy has great respect for the verdict of the jury [dudes], we strongly disagree with it [man]” and that the company plans to appeal the decision, although they do not deny the infringement.
And while Monster ended up shelling out $1.575 million more than they had offered, something tells me the folks at the company won’t be losing too much sleep over this (they have millions of dollars and copious amounts of caffeine).
• Beastie Boys: http://www.beastieboys.com
[Photo: Astrid Stawiarz]