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.
29 Comments
Heaping Pelion upon Ossa, perhaps. But of course this needs a Blues! So here's one:
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.
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.
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
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'
John Campbell National guitar Crossroad Blues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNxDazIBZNY
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
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 :)
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.
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.
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