Beastie’s Boys’ Rapper and Songwriter Prohibits the Use of His Intellectual Property in His Will

Adam Yauch passed away at the age of 47 this past May 4th. In addition to the $6.4 million bequest to his wife Dechen and their daughter Tenzin, Yauch stated in his will that any intellectual property that he owned could not be used in any advertisements. This included the artist’s songs and his image. The provision, taken from his will, is provided below:

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, in no event may my image or name or any music or any artistic property created by me be used for advertising purposes.

What makes this provision intriguing is that he added the phrase “any music or any artistic property created by me” in his own handwriting to his will.

See RJ Cubarrubia, Music: Adam Yauch’s Will Prohibits Use of His Music in Ads, Rolling Stone, Aug. 9, 2012.

Special Thanks to Karen E. Boxx (Associate Professor of Law, University of Washington School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.