Who owns Chili's restaurant chain? Hip-Hop group Beastie Boys sues franchise for copyright infringement

Beastie Boys have filed a lawsuit against the popular American diner Chili’s for allegedly using their song Sabotage without permission in their advertisement. As per CBS News, the lawsuit was filed on Wednesday, July 10, 2024, against Chili’s parent company, Brinker International.

The lawsuit filed by Beastie Boys states that Brinker International, headed by Kevin Hochman, used parts of Sabotage in their 2022 social media advertisement. The lawsuit has been filed in Manhattan federal court and states:

“Use of the ‘Sabotage’ sound recording, music composition and video was all without permission. The plaintiffs do not license ‘Sabotage’ or any of their other intellectual property for third-party product advertising purposes, and deceased Beastie Boys member Adam Yauch included a provision in his will prohibiting such uses.”

Sabotage was released three decades ago by the Beastie Boys in January 1994. The song was a part of their fourth studio album, III Communication, and was a rock song with loud beats of bass guitar. The song became an instant success amongst the masses and ended up receiving many awards and nominations.

---

The Beastie Boys have demanded at least $150,000 in damages

Beastie Boys are taking serious action against Chili’s for using their hit song Sabotage in their 2022 social media advertisement. The band is now demanding a sum of $150,000 in damages.

Apart from this, they have also demanded a “permanent injunction order” to block Blinker International from using the music produced by The Beastie Boys. The group has listed Yauch’s estate, Michael Diamond, and Adam Horovitz as the plaintiffs. Yauch passed away in May 2012 due to cancer.

The lawsuit also mentioned that the advertisement showed characters with similar dresses and looks as in the music video of the song. Chili’s 2022 advertisement started with the characters robbing the ingredients from a Chili’s restaurant, with their looks being similar to the characters in the official music video.

The band mentioned:

“The video has proven tremendously popular with the public. The official music video for ‘Sabotage’ has been viewed 131 million times on YouTube, while other posted live and other performances have been viewed tens of millions of times more. Notwithstanding their wigs, moustaches and sunglasses, the band and its individual members have become widely identified with and are widely recognized for their portrayals in the ‘Sabotage’ video.”

This is not the first time that the band has taken a company to court. In 2014, they sued the owners of Monster Energy Drink for copyright infringement after the drinks company used their music in a 2012 advertisement in Canada. At the time, the boy band ended up winning the case and $1.7 million.

Chili’s Grill & Bar was founded by Larry Lavine in Texas in 1975. Over the years, it has expanded and spread across various cities in the USA and in many other countries too. The restaurant mostly serves American and Mexican cuisine, which is much loved by the masses.

While the lawsuit has created a buzz amongst the masses on social media, the restaurant chain has not yet responded to the allegations.