The Beastie Boys have sued Brinker International, the owner of 30 Chili's Grill & Bar locations in New York, for alleged copyright and trademark infringement.
The lawsuit comes after a Chili's ad was released that parodied the rap group's 1994 hit “Sabotage” and its '70s-themed video directed by Spike Jonze.
The suit alleges that the ad, which features “three characters wearing 1970s-style wigs, fake mustaches and sunglasses,” was clearly “intended to evoke the three members of the Beastie Boys: Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz, Michael “Mike D” Diamond and the late Adam “MCA” Yauch.”
“The use of the sound recording, musical composition and video for ‘Sabotage’ was made without permission,” the lawsuit said. In the lawsuit, the group claims it “does not license ‘Sabotage’ or any of its other intellectual property for the purpose of advertising third-party products” and alleges the ad creates the false impression that the law permitted this.
The suit seeks $150,000 in damages for each instance of copyright infringement, attorneys' fees and three times the profits for any false statements. The group also demanded that Brinker remove the ad from circulation and never use its music or images again.
The Beastie Boys are known for their aversion to commercial licensing. Yauch's will prohibits the use of his image, music and created artwork in any form of product advertising.
If successful, this would be the third time in recent years that the Beastie Boys have been sued by a company for unlicensed use of their music. In 2013, they secured a deal with toy company GoldieBlox after the firm parodied the group’s 1987 song “Girls” in an ad. The company apologized and donated money to charity.
In 2014, the Beastie Boys won a $1.7 million settlement against the makers of Monster Energy Drink for using clips from songs such as “Sabotage,” “So What'cha Want,” “Make Some Noise,” and “Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun” in a promotional video and free download without the band's permission.
