Eminem has filed a lawsuit against New Zealand’s National party for the use of “Lose Yourself,” a song from the 8 Mile soundtrack, in an ad for prime minister John Key. Eminem’s publishers are also seeking damages for copyright infringement in the matter, according to the Associated Press.
“Unauthorized use has been made of Eminem’s Grammy and Academy Award-winning song ‘Lose Yourself’ in election campaign advertising run by the National party in the lead-up to the 2014 New Zealand general election,” publishers say, according to the report.
Joel Martin, speaking for Eminem and his publishers, said the emcee was not asked about the song being used in the promotion.
“It is both disappointing and sadly ironic that the political party responsible for championing the rights of music publishers in New Zealand by the introduction of the three strikes copyright reforms should itself have so little regard for copyright,” Martin says in the report.
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Nevertheless, the National Party says it is innocent in the matter.
“The National party will be defending this action vigorously,” the party has said in a statement. “As the matter is now before the courts we will not be making any further public comment.”
The National Party has also said that other organizations have used the song without any legal ramifications.
The report notes that Eminem has also sued Apple for using one of his songs in an ad without permission.
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