Lawyers for Eminem are currently representing the legendary rapper in a New Zealand courtroom over the alleged unauthorized usage of "Lose Yourself" for a campaign commercial by the country's governing political party. The issue arose after a similar as hell song was played during a 2014 advertisement that you can watch below:
The defendant's, NZ's National Party, didn't deny the copyright infringement, but claimed that it was accidental. The track was purchased from a stock music library called BeatBox, and thus they assumed that it was legal. The song's title? "Eminem Esque."
All this led to the very, very bizarre scene embedded at the top of the page, where a number of super serious legal professionals sat through a playing of "Lose Yourself," as well as the knock-off, with almost zero reaction.
The trial has got to be noteworthy for that visual alone.
But, when it comes to specifics, a lawyer for Eight Mile Style, quite obviously representing Eminem, called "Lose Yourself" "iconic," and claimed that it's "without doubt the jewel in the crown of Eminem's musical work." He also said that emails sent from the National Party's campaign team showed concern over the usage of the knockoff, but incorrectly believed that the composer would be the one getting his ass sued if/when Eminem's legal team ever found out.
Doesn't look like that's the case.
Anyway, the trial is scheduled to go on throughout the rest of the week. If a scene can top the bizarre visual above we'll keep you updated. But we wouldn't hold our breath on that front.
