Insert popular music pun here

National Party loses Eminem copyright case; Ordered to pay $600k plus interest, says has already started proceedings against the suppliers & licensors of the track they used for 2014 election campaign

25th Oct 17, 4:13pm by Alex Tarrant

The National Party has been ordered by the High Court to pay $600,000 for breaching copyright held by Eminem and his publisher Eight Mile Style over the song, Lose Yourself.

Not only that, they need to stump up with 5% annual interest on that sum since 28 June 2014.

National said they had already kicked off a claim against the suppliers and licensors of the track.

See the release from National below. The full 469-page judgement is here. A media statement on the judgement is here.

National is disappointed with today’s High Court decision that has found music from our 2014 campaign breaches copyright of Eminem’s song ‘Lose Yourself’, National Party President Peter Goodfellow says.

“However, the High Court found that before using the track the Party took extensive advice and sought assurances from industry professionals that the track could be used by the Party.

“The judgment has also found that the Party in using the track did not act flagrantly or in a manner which justifies the Party being further punished.

“We purchased the piece of production music from a reputable Australian-based music production library, who had purchased it from a US supplier.

“The music was licensed with one of New Zealand’s main industry copyright bodies, the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS). Being licensed and available for purchase, and having taken advice from our suppliers, the Party believed the purchase was legal.

“The Party is now considering the implications of the judgment and the next steps. We already have a claim against the suppliers and licensors of the track,” Mr. Goodfellow says.

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29 Comments

by waymad | 25th Oct 17, 4:23pm 1508901819

Heaping Pelion upon Ossa, perhaps. But of course this needs a Blues! So here's one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lQdB4WjtzY

by PocketAces | 25th Oct 17, 5:38pm 1508906304

The only people who could not see that coming was anyone who had never heard of Eminem and anyone who was so arrogant that they could not even see their way clear to checking with even a halfway decent lawyer, me even, because I saw it coming. It actually serves 'em right.

by PocketAces | 25th Oct 17, 5:39pm 1508906379

PS still love the National guitar though, too bad about its name.

by Foxglove. | 25th Oct 17, 7:07pm 1508911620

Cathy Carr sang "come down, come down from your ivory tower " that would have been a really good theme song given the eventual outcome. Suppose trouble is that would have taken National back to the time of Holland's government, but even so if the message is true, then why not shout it out.

by Kate | 26th Oct 17, 11:46am 1508971563

I'd have thought that their advertising agency would be the ones on the hook for the damages. It was a really well produced commercial - could not have been cheap and surely it was the agency that made the suggestion for that music as it fit the ad perfectly.

by Smalltown | 25th Oct 17, 5:28pm 1508905724

Bring on the resolution of the Barclay case pls.

We will probably get a decision just after National admit there was a housing crisis or the 2nd coming of Christ, whichever occurs last.

by RickStrauss | 25th Oct 17, 5:44pm 1508906640

Wonder why the NZ Police's investigation of Todd Barclay is taking so long?

by J.C. | 25th Oct 17, 5:52pm 1508907130

He might have got diversion in a secret court hearing

by PocketAces | 25th Oct 17, 5:59pm 1508907584

Had to get in line?

by Kakapo | 26th Oct 17, 8:05am 1508958354

Well, disasters are supposed to come in threes.

Poor National. It's like they were run down by a bus, staggered to their feet, and stumbled into the path of another bus.

by PocketAces | 26th Oct 17, 8:30am 1508959812

So it is sounding that whatever song you want to set this to, it will have to be country, you know, wives leaving, dog's dying and such.

by Kakapo | 26th Oct 17, 9:15am 1508962507

Scene: A smoky club. Mike Hosking steps up to the mike in something from the Midlife Crisis Fashion Victim range at Barkers and bearing a xylophone.

The Minister of Finance is innumerate
Only fit for throwing dildos at

plink plink plink

Judith Collins went mad with rabies
Woe woe woe we'll have to shoot her

plink plink plink

The dairy cows will all dry up
It must be witchcraft
The sky is falling and it'll soon be raining spiders
Woe woe woe somebody keyed the porsche

plink plink plink

By the rules of rap battles Eminem
Is now the president of the united states
Woe woe woe the pinot noir is sour
Michelle Boag must have given it the evil eye

plink plink plink

The man I love has left me
Sold his house to a Chinese businessman
I will camp on his tennis court and wear a pony-tail
If that's what it takes
To win back his affection
Woe Woe Woe the sky is falling
Happy Days are gone

plink plink plink

by PocketAces | 26th Oct 17, 9:01am 1508961698

You snuck in and watched the show, didn't you? Go on, admit it.

by PocketAces | 25th Oct 17, 5:59pm 1508907553

The shine has sure come off that particular National guitar

by J.C. | 25th Oct 17, 6:19pm 1508908798

Tell a story 'bout rags to riches
'Bout a pimp named Shorty from the Oakland set
Been mackin' for years and ain't fell off yet
So if you ever see me rollin' in my drop top Caddy
Throw a peace sign and say 'Hey, pimp daddy!'
'Cause I never would front on my folks
I slow down and let the gold diggers count my spokes
B*&^hes come a dime a dozen

Too Short, 'I'm a Player'

by PocketAces | 25th Oct 17, 6:32pm 1508909535

John Campbell National guitar Crossroad Blues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNxDazIBZNY

by Alter Ego | 25th Oct 17, 6:58pm 1508911133

So National lost twice, is their name Copywrited, or copied wrongly...I ask my self.

I think they are out of tune, with realty...or was that reality.

by Randomman | 25th Oct 17, 7:23pm 1508912581

Next time you lose yourself in the woods, bring m&ms

by bigblue | 25th Oct 17, 11:10pm 1508926221

The words in that eminem song seem rather appropriate given the outcome for Bill English:

If you had one shot, or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted
One moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip?

He's choking now, everybody's joking now
The clock's run out, time's up, over, bloah!
Snap back to reality
Oh, there goes gravity
He's so mad, but he won't give up that easy

by Joe Public | 26th Oct 17, 3:00am 1508940057

Love to hear how National's PR Spin team will play this out in a positive way ... What a balls up !

by sharetrader | 26th Oct 17, 7:15am 1508955340

maybe this is SJ playlist
lying eyes the eagles
would i lie to you eurythnics
love the way you lie Eminem
little lies Fleetwood mack

by two otherguys | 26th Oct 17, 8:38am 1508960296

If the decision of the court had not been delayed, whether by intervention or not, Bill English could have covered the payout from the PM's Slush Fund, same one used $100,000 for the Todd Barclay hush-up

by dollar_bill | 26th Oct 17, 8:55am 1508961354

I find this hugely ironic that a hip hop oufit has sued someone for sampling their music. Learn't from the best in the music industry I guess. Check out the opening bars of Kashmir by Led Zeppelin for some inspiration.

by PocketAces | 26th Oct 17, 9:34am 1508963656

And of course the most obvious of all Eminem/M&M

by dollar_bill | 26th Oct 17, 12:52pm 1508975556

Marshall Bruce Mathers III

by GenerationXY | 26th Oct 17, 9:36am 1508963774

As much as it pains me to say this, it's not National's fault. They used a piece of music widely available from a production music company and legally licensed it. That that company has a history of using copycat music is more the production companies fault and then the audio engineer should have flagged it as a problem is his fault. Ultimately, National hired professional to their advertising and they should not be at fault. The 2008 copyright infringement however, totally WAS their fault :)

by PocketAces | 26th Oct 17, 9:40am 1508964004

I largely agree with you, however, had I been Steven Joyce's position I would have gone with my instinct there, which would have told me, no, too close. I guess all those years thinking that had some sort of divine right to govern, your instincts get pretty blunted.

by GenerationXY | 26th Oct 17, 11:04am 1508969063

I have a lot of first hand knowledge on this and can say that his instincts were blunted well before he came to power...

by Boatman | 26th Oct 17, 10:47am 1508968033

Thank God for our democracy , where we can get rid of people who have become complacent , arrogant and too smart for their own good .

National have made some really stupid mistakes in 9 years , leaking Peters NZ Super error info , allowing 350,000 immigrants in without warning us of what they were doing to cite just 2 examples

While I am not personally happy about the 3 - in -bed coalition , we do need change from time to time

Imagine if we were a dictatorship or pseudo -dictatorship like Venezuela or Zimbabwe , holding farce or rigged elections ( ala Kenya) or where they are in power for 40 years and you cant get rid of them.