The Beastie Boys have filed a lawsuit in New York federal court against restaurant owner Brinker International, alleging that Brinker used the legendary rap trio’s 1994 song “Sabotage” to promote its Chili’s chain without permission.
The group The complaint was filed Wednesday. Brinker illegally used “sabotage” in Chili’s social media ads, falsely creating the impression that the Beastie Boys were endorsing the casual dining restaurant.
Lawyers for the Beastie Boys and a spokesman for Mr. Brinker did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit on Thursday.
The Beastie Boys formed in New York in 1981 and disbanded in 2012 after founding member Adam “MCA” Yauch died of cancer. Earlier that same year, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
“Sabotage” was a single from the group’s 1994 album Ill Communication, and was made famous by its music video, a parody of 1970s television cop dramas.
According to the group’s lawsuit, Brinker posted a Chiliz ad featuring “Sabotage” on social media without permission.
It also said one of the ads featured “three characters wearing apparently ’70s-style wigs, fake beards and sunglasses” and was “intended to evoke the reveal scene in Plaintiff’s famous official video ‘Sabotage.'”
“Plaintiffs have not licensed ‘Sabotage’ or any other intellectual property to third parties for product advertising purposes, and the late Beastie Boys member Adam Yauch included a clause in his will prohibiting such uses,” the lawsuit states.
The Beastie Boys sued Brinker for copyright and trademark infringement, seeking at least $150,000 in damages and an injunction preventing him from using their work.
In 2014, the group won a jury verdict awarding energy drink maker Monster Beverage $1.7 million in damages for using their music without permission.
