Photo: WENN
The advert in question is a viral campaign from the toy company that pastiches the famous track, reversing the lyrics of the original in order to empower women. So far, the video has amassed over 7 million views since it was posted on 17 November.
Now, THR reports that the Beastie Boys' surviving members Mike D and Ad-Rock have penned an open letter to the startup providing some insight into their side of the dispute:
"Like many of the millions of people who have seen your toy commercial 'GoldieBlox, Rube Goldberg & the Beastie Boys', we were very impressed by the creativity and the message behind your ad. We strongly support empowering young girls, breaking down gender stereotypes and igniting a passion for technology and engineering.
"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. When we tried to simply ask how and why our song 'Girls' had been used in your ad without our permission, YOU sued US."
Watch the GoldieBlox commercial below
A Beastie Boys spokesperson added: "There was no complaint filed, no demand letter -- no demand, for that matter -- when they sued Beastie Boys."
GoldieBlox issued the lawsuit last week, reading: "The Beastie Boys have now threatened GoldieBlox with copyright infringement. Lawyers for the Beastie Boys claim that the GoldieBlox 'Girls' Parody Video is a copyright infringement, is not a fair use and that GoldieBlox's unauthorized use of the Beastie Boys intellectual property is a 'big problem' that has a 'very significant impact.'"
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