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The
group said in its complaint filed on Wednesday that Brinker
unlawfully used "Sabotage" in Chili's social-media ads, falsely
implying that the Beastie Boys endorsed the casual-dining
restaurants.
Attorneys for the Beastie Boys and spokespeople for Brinker did
not immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit
on Thursday.
The Beastie Boys formed in New York City in 1981 and dissolved
in 2012 after founding member Adam "MCA" Yauch died of cancer.
They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier
that year.
"Sabotage" was a single from the group's 1994 album "Ill
Communication" and gained fame for its music video, a parody of
1970s television police dramas.
The group's lawsuit said that Brinker posted Chili's ads to
social media featuring "Sabotage" without a license.
It also said that one of the ads featured "three characters
wearing obvious 70s-style wigs, fake mustaches, and sunglasses"
that "intended to evoke in the minds of the public scenes from
Plaintiff's well-known official 'Sabotage' video."
"The plaintiffs do not license 'Sabotage' or any of their other
intellectual property for third-party product advertising
purposes, and deceased Beastie Boys member Adam Yauch included a
provision in his will prohibiting such uses," the lawsuit said.
The Beastie Boys accused Brinker of infringing their copyrights
and violating their trademark rights. They asked the court for
at least $150,000 in monetary damages and an order blocking
Brinker from using their work.
The group won a $1.7 million jury verdict against energy-drink
maker Monster Beverage Corp in 2014 for using its music without
permission.
(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by David
Bario and Andrew Heavens)
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