Thirty years ago, when the Beastie Boys were unheard of, they put their trust in a young lawyer named Kenneth Anderson. On Thursday, he validated their trust by helping them win a big copyright verdict.
As you may have already read, a federal jury in Manhattan returned a verdict on Thursday that the energy drink company Monster Energy Co. owes the Beastie Boys $1.7 million for using the band’s music in a promotional video without authorization. Monster acknowledged infringement, so the main issue at trial was damages. The seminal hip hop group had sought up to $2.5 million, while Monster argued that it should pay just $125,000.
