“Lose Yourself in the Moment”

It appears that the New Zealand ruling National Party may have taken the lyrics of Eminem’s smash hit “Lose Yourself” quite literally. The song is quoted saying “if you had, one shot, or one opportunity, to seize everything you ever wanted in one moment would you capture it or just let it slip?” Well, that’s exactly what the National Party did when it used Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” in a campaign ad without permission.

In a lawsuit filed with the Wellington High Court, Detroit based publishers, Eight Mile Style and Martin Affiliated, are seeking damages for copyright infringement. Joel Martin, a spokesperson for the two companies, stated Eminem was never approached for permission to use his work. Martin said "it is both disappointing and sadly ironic that the political party responsible for championing the rights of music publishers in New Zealand ... should itself have so little regard for copyright," and “we do not hesitate to take immediate action to protect the integrity of Eminem's works." The National party has denied the accusations of infringement and will defend the action vigorously.

The New Zealand National Party played the Grammy and Academy Award winning track in a lead up to New Zealand’s general elections that start September 20th. The disputed ad in New Zealand depicts a boat filled with people rowing together, aimed at symbolizing the party's unity. The Prime Minister is rejecting allegations of alleged copyright infringement because the ad was not an exact rendition of the song as there were no vocals to the song. Party representatives also stated that “Lose Yourself” has been used by other organizations without similar actions from Eminem and his publishers.

This is not the first time Eminem launched legal action over copyright infringement. Eminem sued Apple for using a song in one of its television commercials without permission. There is also legal action against Audi over alleged infringement of “Lose Yourself”. The ad was removed as soon as Eminem first raised concerns about the possible infringement. Now that the claims reached a New Zealand Higher Court, Party representatives will no longer comment on the matter.

By: Micheal Littlejohn, Associate Editor of Sports & Entertainment

Photo Credit: monsieurlam via photopin cc

Sources:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-17/eminem-publishers-sue-n-z-party-intellectual-property.html

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/eminem-publishers-sue-zealand-political-party-25527880