As interesting as the dispute between the Beastie Boys and
GoldieBlox already is, there is another aspect to this dispute that
makes it even more fascinating. In the public letter that
GoldieBlox issued shortly after filing their suit, GoldieBlox
apologized to the Beastie Boys for its use of Girls in its
commercial becuase this use defied Adam Yauch's final wishes
set out in his will.
One of the three members of Beastie Boys, Yauch died in May
2012, and his will was filed with the New York Surrogate Court in
Manhattan in August 2012, making it a public document. Like many
other celebrities, Yauch's will was drafted to prohibit his
name or image from being used for advertising purposes. Sometime
after his will was drafted though, Yauch added the following words
in his own handwriting to the prohibition on his name or image
being used in advertising:
