Despite being 'very impressed by... the message behind' the ad, the hip hop group says the video was made for commercial purpose and the company didn't ask for the band's permission to use their song.
- Nov 26, 2013
AceShowbiz - The Beastie Boys have finally broken silence after the use of their song "Girls" in a GoldieBlox ad set a lawsuit filed by the toy company. In a statement released on Monday, November 25, the surviving members of the band, Mike D and Ad-Rock, set things straight that they're not the first to resort to legal action in the matter.
They open the short statement with praise, "Like many of the millions of people who have seen your toy commercial 'GoldieBlox, Rube Goldberg & the Beastie Boys,' we were very impressed by the creativity and the message behind your ad. We strongly support empowering young girls, breaking down gender stereotypes and igniting a passion for technology and engineering."
They continue, "As creative as it is, 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. 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 video that has become a viral hit features three little girls playing with a Rube Goldberg-inspired contraption and singing alternative lyrics to the Beastie Boys song "Girls". On Friday, GoldieBlox filed a court document seeking protection from legal action, claiming that "the Beastie Boys have now threatened GoldieBlox with copyright infringement." The company insisted the video is a parody that does not infringe on copyrights and is protected by the Fair Use Doctrine.
The hip hop group, however, disagrees with the company since the video was made for commercial purpose and they didn't ask for the band's permission before using the song in the ad.
