Eminem performs at Samsung Galaxy stage during 2014 Lollapalooza Day One at Grant Park on August 1, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo : Getty Images / Theo Wargo)
The Eminem vs New Zealand National Party copyright case over the rapper's single "Lose Yourself" is set for court hearings on May 2017. Eight Mile Style and Martin Affiliated are suing the Party over a piece of music used in an election campaign advertising. Both firms are based in Detroit and never allowed the use of the song for any political campaign.
The Eminem vs New Zealand copyright case started when a campaign video of the latter in 2014 allegedly breached the song of the Detroit music artist. The music publisher Eight Mile Style claimed it holds the copyright for the American rapper's original music, Stuff reported. For National, it believes it licensed the song correctly from established bodies to represent the artists' rights before using the track. It disagreed with the action and is determined to defend its position.
The NZ National Party described the music as a library piece and bought it from Beatbox, a production music supplier based in Singapore and Australia, according to RNZ. While Eight Mile Style will appear in the court as the suing party, it was not clear if Marshall Mathers will.
Lawyer Joel Martin who represented Eminem's publishers dismissed in 2014 the justification of the Party and its claims that it was not aware of the musician's links. Their camp believe National's piece of music was a clear attempt to invoke the "Lose Yourself" spirit as the Party licensed it from a firm who offered the piece as "Emin-eske."
Martin cited as an example, buying a Gucci handbag from the street, being told it looks and feels like a Gucci but only costs $10. When someone knows that Gucci bags cost a thousand dollars, he or she should suspect there is something wrong, and check whether it is authentic.
The National was also forced to pull thousands of DVDs in 2008 which featured a track akin to a song by Coldplay after the EMI record firm raised concerns. The Eminem vs New Zealand National Party copyright case will be heard at Wellington's High Court in May next year and is expected to last for three weeks.
Here is the NZ National Party's ad campaign in question.
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