GoldieBlox, a toy company specializing in engineering toys for young girls based out of San Francisco, has made concessions to the New York hip-hop group the Beastie Boys by removing a video featuring their song, “Girls.” According to the court papers, “the video advertisement posted on [GoldieBlox’s] website and other video sharing websites featuring the Beastie Boys’ song “Girls” (the “GoldieBlox Advertisement”) constitutes copyright infringement and is not fair use.” The band was upset that their music was used as “a ‘jingle’ to sell GoldieBlox’s products.”
The video features young girls constructing a Rube Goldberg machine while singing a parody of the Beastie Boys’ song. The advertisement highlights the mission of the company, which is to promote science and engineering among young girls. The Beastie Boys were quick to note that they in no way oppose the mission of the organization and were “very impressed by the creativity and message” of the advertisement.
Seeking an easy solution to the dispute, GoldieBlox removed the video which had since gone viral. However, the Beastie Boys’ legal representatives stated that the band has “suffered injury to their business, good will and property.” As such, the Beastie Boys were “entitled to recover from GoldieBlox the gains, profits and advantages” it had obtained. The GoldieBlox attorney then responded by saying, “Although the ad has been taken down and we would prefer an amicable resolution, we strongly believe that the parody constitutes fair use.”
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Source: http://www.scribd.com, www.artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com, www.ncpc.org