Beastie Boys star testifies in first day of copyright trial

Beastie Boys star Adam ‘Ad-Rock’ Horovitz took the stand in New York on Wednesday (28May14) as the band’s copyright infringement case against the bosses of Monster Beverage Corp went to trial. Ad-Rock and bandmate Michael ‘Mike D’ Diamond filed suit against the company last year (13), claiming executives used five of the hip-hop trio’s tracks in a promotional video without permission.
The tribute montage was posted online days after the death of founding Beastie Boys star Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch, who had made it clear in his will that his likeness or art would not be used in any advertisements.
The Ruckus in the Rockies video debuted at a snowboarding event in Canada and ended with the words “RIP MCA”, but the rapper’s bandmates were not impressed with the promo and they have sued for $1 million (£625,000) in damages for the song usage and an additional $1 million (£625,000) for “implied endorsement”.
Testifying in Manhattan on Wednesday, Ad-Rock gave the court a brief history of his band before answering defence questions.
The trial is expected to last a week.