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Beastie Boys file lawsuit against GoldieBlox over "Girls" ad

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When girl-centric toymakers GoldieBlox issued a public apology for using The Beastie Boys‘ song “Girls” (with altered lyrics) in an online video/ad and took it offline, some might have thought that would be that. But the NY Times reports that yesterday The Beastie Boys filed a lawsuit against GoldieBlox, saying the company used a “campaign of systematic infrigement” and:

Achieved and continues to achieve additional publicity, press coverage, and, upon information and belief, greater sales of its products, as a direct result of the Beastie Boys’ perceived affiliation with the GoldieBlox Advertisement. Unfortunately, rather than developing an original advertising campaign to inspire its customers to create and innovate, GoldieBlox has instead developed an advertising campaign that condones and encourages stealing from others.

They also go on to say that Goldiblox has a history of turning other artists songs (they cite Queen and Daft Punk among others) into commercial jingles without permission. For those interested in page after page of legalese, you can browse the whole thing here. In a quote to the New York Times, GoldieBlox maintains that their use of the song in the video falls under “fair use.”

In more pleasant news, Beastie Boys’ Ad-Rock features in Champagne Jerry’s new video “Yo, Kev!” which we premiered this week.