$600k rap over political ad music

The National Party has lost a copyright case for using a ‘‘soundalike’’ version of the Eminem song

Lose Yourself in a 2014 election campaign advert.

It should pay $600,000 plus more than two years of interest, Wellington High Court judge Justice Helen Cull said in her decision issued on Wednesday.

The National Party paid $4802 to use the ‘‘sound-alike’’ music library track Eminem Esque but the copyright holders for Lose Yourself said it was so close to the original that it breached copyright. Detroit rapper Eminem was not a party to the case. Two United States companies that control the copyright sued the National Party and its manager/secretary Gregory Hamilton.

The judge found Lose Yourself was a ‘‘highly original’’ work, and

Eminem Esque substantially copied it. The similarities between them overwhelmingly supported a finding of copying.

National Party president Peter Goodfellow said the result was disappointing. ‘‘The party is now considering the implications of the judgment and the next steps.’’

It already had a claim against the suppliers and licensors of the track, Goodfellow said.

During the court hearing in April and May, secrecy surrounded details of comparable fee agreements to use music, the fees paid, and settlements reached for infringing copyright.

Los Angeles composer Michael Cohen, who was responsible for

Eminem Esque, was made a party to the case, but took no part in it.

Lose Yourself was released in

2002 in conjunction with the movie

8 Mile, and won both Oscar and Grammy awards.

The court was told that rarely had Lose Yourself been allowed to be used for other purposes such as advertising, and the copyright holder would not have licensed its use by the National Party for any amount of money.

The National Party defence was that a licence fee was paid to use

Eminem Esque.

When someone noticed the similarity to Lose Yourself the company in charge of preparing the advert took advice from others in the advertising and music industry that the music was safe to use. But it did not get legal advice.

The ads were broadcast more than 100 times before they were replaced.