GoldieBlox and Beastie Boys In Copyright Infringement Fight Over Viral Video The girls game-maker takes some heat after a video it produced has received more than 7 million views on YouTube.
By Jason Fell
UPDATE: GoldieBlox Removes Popular Video After Legal Fight With the Beastie Boys
For one startup, viral video success has turned into a copyright infringement mess.
Earlier this week, girls game-maker GoldieBlox posted a video to YouTube featuring a trio of young girls building a detailed contraption that sends teacups and baby dolls flying around a house and is set to a rewritten version of the 1987 Beastie Boys song "Girls." In less than a week the video already has more than 7.5 million views.
The video is undeniably cute and has a positive message encouraging young girls to pursue a career in engineering. But not everyone is pleased. In a legal document filed in California federal court, GoldieBlox -- founded by former Stanford University engineer Debbie Sterling -- says: "Lawyers for the Beastie Boys claim that the GoldieBlox Girls Parody Video is a copyright infringement, is not a fair use, and that GoldieBlox's unauthorized use of the Beastie Boys intellectual property is a "big problem' that has a "very significant impact.'"
Related: GoldieBlox Video About Girls Becoming Engineers Goes Viral
In the document, GoldieBlox says its aim is to receive a "declaratory judgment" stating that its parody video and is protected by the Fair Use Doctrine and doesn't infringe any copyrights.
A press representative for Island Def Jam, the Beastie Boys' record label and one of several defendants named in the lawsuit, did not immediately return a request for comment. A representative for GoldieBlox declined to comment.
You can read the full legal complaint below:
