Beastie Boys Lash Out At Toy Company's Viral Video

You might have seen a viral video over the past couple of days for toy company GoldieBox – it has had over 8 million views in the week that it has been online, after all – but it seems the Beastie Boys are none too thrilled about their music's inclusion in the clip, which has allegedly happened without consent.

Watch the video here:

The company, who purport to inspire the next generation of female engineers by through their range of toys that shy away from the stereotypical pink princess range of toys for young girls, have allegedly not sought permission from the defunct legendary New York rap group to re-write their song Girls for the hugely popular video and have threatened legal action.

GoldieBlox filed a suit in Californian court late last week, The Hollywood Reporter reports, seeking declaratory relief that their use of the song constitutes fair use. In order for that to be proven, a judge will need to assess the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount and substantiality of the portion taken and the effect of the use upon the potential market.

The initial song, taken from the band's 1986 debut album Licensed To Ill, is a notoriously sexist piece with its final verse stating “Girls, to do the dishes/Girls, to clean up my room/Girls, to do the laundry/Girls, and in the bathroom”. GoldieBlox have said their re-write of the song is a parody of the original and a direct attack on the sexist nature of the lyrics.

“GoldieBlox created its parody video specifically to comment on the Beastie Boys song, and to further the company's goal to break down gender stereotypes and to encourage young girls to engage in activities that challenge their intellect, particularly in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math,” the suit says.

It is a bit of a change for Beastie Boys to be on this side of the fence in a copyright debate, the band are still fighting battles over sampling from their Paul's Boutique album, released way back in 1989.