The High Court has found that the National Party infringed copyright by using a song which sounded suspiciously like Eminem's Lose Yourself for its election advertising.
A track called 'Eminem-esque' was used as a backing track in television advertisements for the party's 2014 election drive.
After eight days of musical comparisons, the trial has wrapped up with the judge reserving her decision. (Source: Other)
The copyright for the track is owned by American publishers Eight Mile Style and Martin Affiliated, who initiated court proceedings in September 2014.
The party paid $4800 to use the music, after it purchased it from an Australian stock music company, Beatbox.
The High Court ruled that National had to pay eight Mile Style $600,000, with interest, dating back to June 28 2014.
The court said in a statement that "between 20 to 30 August 2014, the advertisements, with Eminem Esque synchronised to them, were played 186 times on New Zealand television".
"Eminem Esque was also played eight times during a 15 minute opening broadcast on TV1, occurring on 23 August 2014."
The party has been told to stump up with more than half a million dollars for breaching the rapper's copyright. (Source: Other)
During the court case, the National Party's lawyers argued that Lose Yourself was not original enough to be entitled to copyright protection, saying that the song borrowed elements from many different genres.
The court acknowledged that National had sought and received assurances from the stock music company that "no copyright issues arose from their use of the production track", who said they had "paid for a synchronisation licence to use the music sound-alike Eminem Esque".
Justice Helen Cull ruled that "the distinctive sound of Lose Yourself is not limited by a 'melodic' line, but is a combination of the other instruments, particularly the guitar riff, the timbre, the strong hypnotic rhythm and the recurring violin instrumentation and the piano figure.
"It is no coincidence that Lose Yourself received the 2003 Academy Award for Best Original Song ... I find that Lose Yourself is a highly original work."
The $600,000 figure was based on "the hypothetical licence fee that would reasonably have been charged for permission to use a copy of Lose Yourself".
The National Party responded in a statement to the ruling, saying "the Party is now considering the implications of the judgment and the next steps".
"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," President Peter Goodfellow said.
"We already have a claim against the suppliers and licensors of the track."
The chart-topping rap song was played to court in the case between Eminem's company and the National Party. (Source: Other)
US comedian John Oliver mocked the proceedings as the court case rolled on, especially Steven Joyce's comments that that party thought the use of the music was "pretty legal".
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