You may have seen the YouTube ad video that showed a bunch of young girls turning up their noses as traditional girl toys and choosing to make a Rube Goldberg device while singing their own version of the Beastie Boys’ song Girls. If you didn’t see the video, you probably heard all the hype about the lawsuit when it made headlines a few months ago.

According to the Beastie Boys, the company responsible for the video, GoldieBlox, was using their music without their permission and violating copyright laws. GoldieBlox claimed that the video fell under the doctrine of Fair Use. GoldieBlox filed a suit against the Beastie Boys and the band countersued and claimed the company was guilty of “systematic campaign of infringement” with a “series of video advertisements set to well-known song from popular artists in an effort to achieve the company’s goal of selling toys.”

The lawsuits were both settled in court on Tuesday. A representative from the GoldieBlox company released a statement that included the details of the settlement saying,

“That settlement includes (a) the issuance of an apology by GoldieBlox, which will be posted on GoldieBlox’s website, and (b) a payment by GoldieBlox, based on a percentage of its revenues, to one or more charities selected by Beastie Boys that support science, technology, engineering and mathematics education for girls.”

A representative for the Beastie Boys confirmed the terms of the settlement. Both sides seemed to be okay with these terms and ready to concentrate on other things.

Do you think the GoldieBlox company was right to use the Beastie Boys song without permission?

Image via YouTube