Beastie Boys, who have stated that, on principle, they do not allow their music to be used in advertisements, have come into conflict with a company that has parodied the band’s song “Girls” an online video advertisement.

On Monday, the band released an open letter to the company, GoldieBlox, a San Francisco-area start-up that makes toys and games designed to encourage girls to learn about science and technology:

Like many of the millions of people who have seen your toy commercial “GoldieBlox, Rube Goldberg & the Beastie Boys,” we were very impressed by the creativity and the message behind your ad.

We strongly support empowering young girls, breaking down gender stereotypes and igniting a passion for technology and engineering.

As creative as it is, make no mistake, your video is an advertisement that is designed to sell a product, and long ago, we made a conscious decision not to permit our music and/or name to be used in product ads.

When we tried to simply ask how and why our song “Girls” had been used in your ad without our permission, YOU sued US.

GoldieBlox had filed a lawsuit on Thursday that asserted its right to use the music in the video, which has gone viral with more than eight million views. It said in the suit that it “created its parody video specifically to comment on the Beastie Boys song, and to further the company’s goal to break down gender stereotypes.”

GoldieBlox eventually removed the ad, and responded with its own open letter.

For more info, visit NYT.