Source: BERTRAND GUAY / Getty / Beastie Boys
The Beastie Boys aren't here for their iconic hit record being used by the owner of Chili's.
It has been detected Variety, The Beastie Boys have sued restaurant chain Brinker International Inc., owner of 30 Chili's restaurants in New York, for unauthorized use of their song “Sabotage” and advertisements referenced in the classic single's music video without the group's permission.
Per Variety:
The lawsuit, filed in New York federal court, alleges that Brinker facilitated the creation of social media videos to promote Chili's beginning in or around November 2022.
In addition to alleging that the recording for “Sabotage” was used without authorization, the complaint alleges that the ads resemble the Spike Jonze-directed music video for “Sabotage,” which featured Beastie members Adam “Ad-Rock ” Horovitz, Adam ” MCA” Yauch and Michael “Mike D” Diamond starring in a fictional 1970s crime show called “Sabotage.” Social media ads for Chili's also featured three characters in similar outfits from the decade of 1970 to “steal” ingredients from a Chili's restaurant.
According to the website, the lawsuit claims that the Beastie Boys will continue to suffer damages of an undisclosed amount and claims that Brinker “willfully ignored the harm to the plaintiffs.”
Variety says the Beastie Boys want a permanent injunction, $150,000 in statutory damages in each copyright infringement case, attorney's fees, treble profits from misrepresentation and use of its trademarks, and more.
