Beastie Boys vs. Goldieblox – Readers Poll

By now, many have seen the very creative 'Goldieblox and the Spinning Machine' commercial, which has gone viral in the past week. But while the clip takes the familiar Beastie Boys song 'Girls' and puts a new spin on it, it's also sparked a legal debate between the living members of the band and the Goldieblox company.

The Beastie Boys did not license the track, which keeps in accordance with the wishes of late bandmate Adam "MCA" Yauch who stated in his will that he did not want the band's music licensed for commercial use. And apparently when the Mike D. and Ad-Rock reached out to the company to ask about the usage, Goldieblox filed a preemptive lawsuit against the Beastie Boys, their record label, producer Rick Rubin and Ad-Rock.

According to the Huffington Post, the company is seeking declaratory and inductive relief to "vindicate the rights" of the company in connection with the parody video. Legally, parody songs are considered "fair use." The company also stated that the original song was "highly sexist," while their version promotes a positive message empowering young girls and breaking stereotypes.

For their part, Mike D. and Ad-Rock issued a statement saying:

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.

After hearing both sides argument, we want to know which side you support? Did Goldieblox violate the Beastie Boys rights to the song or do you feel that their work is a parody and that they had no need to contact the band about the usage? Vote in our Readers Poll below: