Eminem lost his cool over the alleged use of his song Lose Yourself by New Zealand’s ruling National Party. The rapper’s publishing company Eight Mile has sued the party for featuring the song in their political ad campaign, ahead of the September 20 general elections in the country.
“In proceedings filed Tuesday in the Wellington Registry of the High Court of New Zealand, Eight Mile Style, LLC and Martin Affiliated, LLC, the Detroit-based publishers of Eminem’s copyrights, are seeking damages for copyright infringement against the New Zealand National Party,” a court statement said.
On behalf of Eminem’s publishing company, Joel Martin said they were not approached for permission to use any of Eminem’s songs for the advertisement. The National Party confirmed it had received a complaint but rejected the allegation. The party’s campaign manager Steven Joyce said they had gone through all the necessary licensing procedures.
The Academy and Grammy Award-winning track was the theme song of the film 8 Mile (2002), in which Eminem plays a struggling rapper. This is not the first time Eminem’s music has been infringed upon. His publishers have previously sued Apple for the commercial use of his content without seeking permission. A high-profile dispute also erupted after car company Audi made use of Lose Yourself in an advertisement.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 19th, 2014.
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