The Beastie Boys sued Brinker International, the parent company of Chili's Grill & Bar, for copyright infringement and trademark infringement after the restaurant chain used their 1994 hit “Sabotage” and their likeness for an ad that parodies the iconic music video directed by Spike Jonze. . In a complaint filed in New York federal court on Wednesday (July 10), the rap group said Brinker used the Patient Communication song to falsely imply that the Beastie Boys endorsed Chili's.
In the lawsuit, obtained by Pitchfork, lawyers for the Beastie Boys claim that Brinker “intended to evoke the three members of the Beastie Boys” by featuring, in the commercial, “three characters wearing obvious '70s wigs, fake mustaches and sunglasses ». The lawyers also clarify that the Beastie Boys “do not license 'Sabotage' or any of their other intellectual property for purposes of advertising third-party products.”
The Beastie Boys are asking the court for $150,000 in monetary damages to have Brinker remove the ads and prevent Brinker from using their work to move forward. In a similar matter, in 2014 the Beastie Boys won a $1.7 million verdict against Monster Beverage Corp for using their music without a license.
from our partners at https://pitchfork.com/news/beastie-boys-sue-chilis-owner-for-copyright-infringement-over-sabotage-commercial
