After an almost four-month back-and-forth legal battle, Beastie Boys and feminist toy company GoldieBlox have settled a lawsuit about the fair use of the hip-hop trio's 1987 track "Girls" for a parody ad campaign. According to The Hollywood Reporter, with the settlement agreement, the terms of which haven't been made known, the case is dismissed with prejudice.
The battle began in November 2013, when GoldieBox preemptively took the Beastie Boys to court, declaring fair use of the track in their viral video. The band wrote an open letter clarifying that they were the ones being sued and not the other way around. The company then wrote an open letter of its own and pulled the song from the ad. But the band, who had a strict no-licensing policy per the request of the late Adam Yauch, countersued the toy company for copyright and trademark infringement, unfair competition and misappropriation of publicity rights.
The case ultimately sparked a debate over Fair Use during this year's SXSW conference, where several licensing executives held a panel called Fighting For Their Rights: A Discussion on The Beastie Boys, Fair Use, and Copyright.
Check out the ad that began this whole mess below, and leave us your thoughts in the comments section.
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