In his closing argument, the lawyer Kevin Puvalowski says that the use of his clients' songs in Monster's online ad is 'absolutely egregious.'
- June 5, 2014
AceShowbiz -
A lawyer for Beastie Boys wants Monster Beverage Corp. to pay the rap group $2 million for copyright infringement. Kevin Puvalowski, the lawyer, appeared in court on Wednesday, June 4 and told jurors that the energy drink company used his clients' songs without permission in an online video.
In his closing arguments, Puvalowski labeled the company's action as "absolutely egregious." Two surviving members of Beastie Boys, Michael "Mike D" Diamond and Adam "Ad Rock" Horovitz, sat as spectators in the courtroom as their lawyer told jurors Monster's bosses had hoped to benefit from how "cool" his clients had become.
"They didn't care if their employees were stealing from the Beastie Boys," he said as quoted by Reuters.
In the case, Beastie Boys sought $1 million in damages for the song licenses and another $1 million for the "implied endorsement" of being featured in the Monster video.
Reid Kahn, a lawyer for Monster, acknowledged the infringement but said that the company used Beastie Boys' songs in their ad because they thought they'd obtained permission to do so. He insisted that the damages wouldn't be more than $125,000.
