Eminem’s Eight Mile Style Suing NZ PM John Key’s National Party Over Alleged Copyright Infringement Of ‘Lose Yourself’

Eminem is taking the New Zealand National Party to court for allegedly copyrighting his song “Lose Yourself.” The U.S. rapper’s publishing company Eight Mile Style accuses PM John Key’s political party of using the critically acclaimed song as background music for the party’s election ad campaign.

In September, the publishing company filed complaint in Wellington’s High Court against National for using the Academy Award-winning track for its political ad without permission. The party denied the allegation, claiming it purchased the song through production music supplier Beatbox.

It was apparently assured that the music purchased through Beatbox was legal and did not infringe any copyright. The music license and fee were paid through Apra/Amcos, the Australasian company that acts as agents for Beatbox in Australia and New Zealand. The National Party went on to say that it has stopped using the music following the complaint.

This hasn’t satisfied Eminem’s publishing company, though. Eight Mile’s civil case against the political party now has a hearing schedule for Feb. 20.

“The National Party is defending this action and will not be making any further public comment until it is resolved,” Greg Hamilton, the secretary for the party, said, adding that National stands by the comments it made in September.

But if the party purchased the song from a reputable source, does the music publishing company has a solid case? Guz Hazel, a partner at James and Wells in Auckland, told the New Zealand Herald that National could end up paying a five-figure sum to Eight Mile if found guilty. Eminem’s company has the right to sue National if they used the song in their ad campaign, this is regardless whether or not it purchased the music through a “reputable supplier.”

“The reason they will be going after the National Party is because they are the ones that actually used the work,” Hazel said. He added that if the political party lost and was found liable, it could go after Beatbox to help pay the remedies, depending on the agreements on their contract.

NZ National Party Denies Copyright Infringement of Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself’