Toy Company Cuts Beastie Boys Song From Viral Video

Earlier this week we reported on some legal wrangling between GoldieBlox and influential New York rap group Beastie Boys with regards to the use of the trio's song Girls in an online video spruiking the company.

Since then there has been a trading of open letters between the group and the company, but it looks like everything might have been settled if the final word from the toy company is anything to go by.

GoldieBlox sued the group after they had allegedly received legal threats about the use of the song in the commercial, which has gone viral in the week and a half it has been online. They believed their take on the song was fair use, given the lyrics were changed and the entire sentiment behind the song was reversed.

The group's two remaining members, Michael Diamond (Mike D) and Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock), quickly responded to the suit with an open letter, saying they were impressed by the video and are supportive of the empowerment of young girls.

But the clincher came in the fact that, impressive as the video may be, it is still an advertisement.

“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,” their letter reads. “When we tried to simply ask how and why our song "Girls" had been used in your ad without our permission, YOU sued US.”

The will of the group's sadly deceased member Adam Yauch is believed to explicitly state that any of his art (which would include the group's music that he had a hand in creating) is not to be used for commercial purposes. This no doubt makes the issue one of even greater importance as the group looks to preserve Yauch's legacy in the way he would have wanted.

GoldieBlox responded to the letter with one of their own, in which they say they launched the suit only because they felt the need to stand up for themselves.

“Our hearts sank last week when your lawyers called us with threats that we took very seriously. As a small company, we had no choice but to stand up for ourselves. We did so sincerely hoping we could come to a peaceful settlement with you.

“We want you to know that when we posted the video, we were completely unaware that the late, great Adam Yauch had requested in his will that the Beastie Boys songs never be used in advertising. Although we believe our parody video falls under fair use, we would like to respect his wishes and yours.”

They then announce they have taken the song off their video in respect to the wishes of the group and will withdraw the suit so long as the group can promise no more legal threats.

“Since actions speak louder than words, we have already removed the song from our video. In addition, we are ready to stop the lawsuit as long as this means we will no longer be under threat from your legal team.”

Here's what the video looks like now.

And here's Girls.