Legal Media Issues Based on Eminem’s Sounds-alike Case
Section 1: Facts
The case involved Eminem’s publisher and New Zealand’s liberal political party. The conservative party lost the case because the judge ruled that it had breached copyright by using a sound-alike song of Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself’ during its campaign advertisement. The political party was therefore ordered by the High Court Judge, Helen Cull to compensate Eminem’s publisher $ 600,000 including interest.
Section 2: Issues
During its 2014 election campaign, New Zealand’s conservative political party produced the song ‘Eminem Esque’ from the original track ‘Lose Yourself’ and used it 186 times in its television ad before removing it off the air after it won the election. Eminem’s publisher, Eight Mile Style then sued the political party because the soundalike hit weighed down the profits earned from the rapper’s original song which was released in 2002.
Eminem’s soundalike case could have more significant repercussions for other companies that tend to use original tracks of artists which are provided by commercial firms. According to Judge Cull, both songs Eminem Esque and Lose Yourself sounded similar therefore the copy soundtrack used by the political party in its ad was a reproduced copy of the original song. The composer of the song Eminem Esque must have dubbed the lyrics from Eminem’s Lose Yourself.
The judge therefore based her ruling on a possible copyright fee the political party might have incurred to use Eminem’s song in its campaign. However, it turned out that the artist’s publisher solemnly granted free posts for the utilization of Lose Yourself in marketing. Cull did not take additional measures against the party except ordering the publisher’s compensation because, in its defense, the political party did not act out of free will. The party apparently sought professional advice for the usage of the artist’s song. It also made a statement that it was aggravated by the judge’s ruling. The President of New Zealand’s National Party, Peter Goodfellow remarked that the party obtained the production song from a renowned music production company in Australia which purchased the music from a supplier company in the U.S.A. He also added that his party was calculating its direction forward by launching complaints against the supplier and licensing firms of the track Eminem Esque.
The ruling against New Zealand’s National Party came at the most unfavorable time because it was defeated in the 2017 election by a liberal coalition headed by the Labor Party.