Toy Company Commercial Makes 'Girls' Parody, Sues Song Creator Beastie Boys
The surviving members of the legendary hip-hop group The Beastie Boys are being sued a small toy company, pre-emptively, for what the group says is an unauthorized use of their classic song, "Girls."
According to Ragan's PR Daily, the GoldiBlox toy company -- a company which encourages women to get involved in science and engineering, fields in which "girls" are typically under-represented -- released a viral video to promote their Rube Goldberg machine. The video, which has received more than 8 million hits, uses a parody of the classic Beastie's song "Girls." In response to this, the GoldiBlox toy company filed a "pre-emptive" lawsuit against the surviving members of the band. "Lawyers for the Beastie Boys claim that the GoldieBlox Girls Parody Video is a copyright infringement, is not a fair use and that GoldieBlox's unauthorized use of the Beastie Boys intellectual property is a 'big problem' that has a 'very significant impact,'" the company said.
In response to the lawsuit, according to Entertainment Weekly, the Beasties released the following statement:
"Like many of the millions of people who have seen your toy commercial "GoldieBlox, Rube Goldberg & the Beastie Boys," we were very impressed by the creativity and the message behind your ad. We strongly support empowering young girls, breaking down gender stereotypes and igniting a passion for technology and engineering. As creative as it is, make no mistake, your video is an advertisement that is designed to sell a product, and long ago, we made a conscious decision not to permit our music and/or name to be used in product ads. When we tried to simply ask how and why our song "Girls" had been used in your ad without our permission, YOU sued US."
So, whose side are you on -- the company's, or the Beasties'? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. In the meantime, check out the video that started it all below!
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