New Zealand’s National Party today found guilty of ripping off rapper Eminem’s song “Lose Yourself” in a 2014 election campaign commercial and ordered to pay more than NZ$600,000 ($413,600) in damages.
National, which won the 2014 election but was tipped out of power last week following the latest ballot, was accused of breaching copyright by using a work entitled “Eminem Esque”
Five months after a two-week hearing in May, the New Zealand High Court found the National Party guilty.
National said the music may have been inspired by Eminem’s hit but was different.
speaking further that the party insisted it bought the music in good faith from a recognised supplier and was assured there was no risk of copyright infringement.
In a statement issued after the ruling, National Party president Peter Goodfellow said they were considering the implications and “already have a claim against the suppliers and licensors of the track”.
During the hearing, National’s lawyer Greg Arthur claimed the industry practice of making so-called “sound-alike” songs that were different enough to avoid copyright issues was well-established.
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