Over the weekend, the Beastie Boys filed with the SDNY, seeking $2.4 million in legal fees from Monster Energy to pay for their recent copyright infringement litigation.
In June, the world-renowned rap group won $1.7 million in a lawsuit against Monster Energy. The Beasties claimed, and Monster admitted during trial, that the energy drink producer used five of their songs without authorization in an online marketing video. The $1.7 million awarded, however, is not enough to cover the extensive legal fees that the band accumulated over the two years of litigation, making their win in court a “Pyrrhic victory.”
In the filing, the group claims that Monster intentionally delayed the legal process and utilized evasive legal techniques to stall the litigation. They also claim that Monster failed to engage in good faith negotiations before and after the verdict was rendered. Though Monster admitted to unauthorized use of the Beastie Boys’ songs, they sought to have the verdict overturned, further increasing the band’s legal fees. Monster Energy has yet to file a response.