Credit: Phil AndelmanBeastie Boys have not performed together since founding member Adam "MCA" Yauch passed away in 2012, but a new trademark application filed by the band's attorney has been taken by some to mean that that surviving members Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz and Michael "Mike D" Diamond could be planning to perform live again.
In a post on his website, lawyer David Lizerbram writes that on June 26, Horovitz and Diamond filed a trademark application U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to register "Beastie Boys" as a trademark to be used for "live performances by a musical group." You can view the application on the USPTO's website.
"Note that the band can't obtain a trademark registration until they actually use that band name 'in commerce,'" Lizerbram writes. "Meaning, for this application to become a trademark registration, they have to use the band name 'Beastie Boys' in the future for live musical performances."
Despite Lizerbram's interpretation of the application, a representative for Beastie Boys tells Pitchfork, "There will never be Beastie Boys live performances without Adam Yauch."
If the application wasn't filed for the purpose of performing live, Lizerbaum suggests that "It's possible that their attorney (who signed the application on their behalf) filed this application for some other reason that we don't know of, or that it was filed in error."
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