The Beastie Boys have sued Chili's Restaurants for using their smash hit “Sabotage” in an advertisement without permission.
The legendary band reportedly filed a lawsuit in federal court on July 10, suing the restaurant chain's parent company, Brinker International, on two counts of copyright infringement. peopleAccording to People magazine, court documents allege that Chiliz has used the band's 1994 hit in video ads as far back as 2022, infringing on the song's ownership rights registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.
According to People magazine, the Beastie Boys are seeking damages of “in excess of $150,000 for the willful infringement” of their music, and court documents state they will seek a jury trial if necessary.
The famous group is suing Brinker for using their song without permission and for copying the Spike Jonze-directed music video for “Sabotage.” According to the filing, the restaurant's ads feature characters dressed in outfits very similar to those worn by the Beastie Boys in the song's music video. According to People magazine, they claim that the ads “feature three characters wearing distinctly '70s-style wigs, fake beards and sunglasses evocative of the three members of the Beastie Boys.”
Portrait of members of American rap group Beastie Boys posing in front of a mural (by Keith Haring) in 1987. (L-R): Mike D (real name Michael Diamond), MCA (real name Adam Yauch, 1964-2012), and Ad-Rock (real name Adam Horowitz). (Photo by Lynn Goldsmith/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)
The ad shows characters stealing food from a Chili's restaurant, and according to People, the lawsuit claims that the video “is interleaved with fictitious opening credits and is clearly similar to and intended to evoke the reveal scene from Plaintiffs' famous official video, 'Sabotage.'” (Related: Cher wins copyright lawsuit against ex-husband's widow)
The Beastie Boys are made up of Michael Diamond, Adam Horowitz and the late Adam Yauch.
