One day before the untimely passing of Beastie Boy Adam “MCA” Yauch, a lawsuit was filed against the group. According to AllHipHop.com, Tuf America filed the lawsuit, claiming that the Beastie Boys used portions of Trouble Funk songs on four different occasions.
According to the report, “Hold It Now Hit It” and “The New Style” were named as two of the four tracks in question. Tuf America is also claiming Trouble Funk’s “Drop the Bomb” was used on “Car Thief” and that “Say What” was used on “Shadrach.”
Tuf America is looking to take this matter to court. The Beastie Boys and Capitol Records were named in the lawsuit. AllHipHop also has documents pertaining to the lawsuit, which can be viewed on their site.
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[May 8]
UPDATE: On Monday, Beastie Boys’ lawyers asked the judge to find that there can’t be substantial similarities found between the original recordings and the group’s works. And if the judge does rule in favor of TufAmerica, Beastie’s lawyers ask to limit the liability on account of the fact that the recordings were made more than two decades ago.
“What precipitated Plaintiff to bring this action two decades after the release of the songs in question, and the day before the passing of defendant Adam Yauch, is not explained,” said the lawyers. “Plaintiff is attempting to sidestep the Copyright Act’s three-year statute of limitations and the defenses of laches and estoppel in light of its decades-long delay in taking any action.”
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Read more about the lawsuit over at Billboard.biz.
