Most popular music followers will instantly recognise the
pulsing background beat of Eminem's Grammy and Academy Award
winning track "Lose Yourself". So popular was this beat
that the New Zealand National Party used a distinctly similar
sounding track (which they claim was lawfully purchased from a
music stock library) during their electoral campaign in 2014.
Eminem's publishing company, Eight-Mile Style, took the
National Party to court in New Zealand, claiming copyright
infringement, in September 2014.
Last week, hot on the heels of the National Party's ejection
from government in the country's latest election, New
Zealand's High Court handed down judgment in the "Lose
Yourself" case and found in Eminem's favour. The court
found that even though the National Party ostensibly went through
the correct channels and obtained the track from a music library,
the track (aptly entitled "Eminem-Esque") ultimately
infringed the copyright in Eminem's "Lose Yourself".
In
