Court Hears Eminem Copyright Claim against New Zealand Governing Party

A copyright infringement case involving Eminem and New Zealand’s governing party is being heard at the High Court of New Zealand this week.

The US rapper’s representatives, Detroit-based Eight Mile Style, claimed the National Party used Eminem’s hit song “Lose Yourself” as part of a campaign advert in 2014.

The party’s lawyers denied the allegations and claimed the track used was actually called “Eminem-esque” and had been bought from a stock music library, according to the NZ Herald.

In a statement, Eminem’s lawyer Gary Williams reportedly said: “[Eminem-esque] was found quickly because the track has ‘Eminem’ in the title.

“So it was easy to find if you were looking for something that sounded like ‘Lose Yourself’,” he said.

The 2014 campaign advert depicts a boat filled with people rowing together, in an attempt to symbolise unity, with the backing track at the centre of the copyright infringement case having been used.

The case began on Monday, May 2.

WIPR reported in 2014 that the National Party denied it had infringed the rapper’s song and said that the approval to use the track came from an Australian-based production outfit.

According to the BBC, Greg Arthur, lawyer for the National Party, said that copyright was “not in any way proven by the name given to a piece of music”.

Source: WIPR

Editor: Camila (camila@iprdaily.com)