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takyon writes:

New Zealand's ruling National Party must pay $600,000 for a copyright-infringing campaign advertisement that used Eminem's track "Lose Yourself" (YT):

New Zealand's ruling National Party must pay $600,000 for infringing the copyrights of Eminem's track "Lose Yourself" in a 2014 election spot. The ruling is significant, not least because the party's political leader at the time was Kim Dotcom's nemesis John Key.

[...] In 2012, the country's law enforcement officials helped to bring down the file-sharing site [Megaupload], including a military-style raid on its founder, Kim Dotcom.

While the Megaupload case is still ongoing, a separate copyright battle in New Zealand came to a conclusion this week. In this case, the country's leading National Party was the accused.

In 2014 the party of former Prime Minister and Kim Dotcom nemesis John Key was sued for copyright infringement by Eminem's publisher Eight Mile Style. In an advertising spot for the General Election campaign, the party used a song heavily inspired by the track "Lose Yourself." A blatant copyright infringement, they argued.

This week the High Court agreed with the publisher ruling that the ad indeed infringed on their copyright. The National Party must now pay a total of $600,000 (415,000 USD) including damages and interest, NZ Herald reports.

Related: NSA Unlawfully Surveiled Megaupload Founder Kim Dotcom in New Zealand
Entire Kim Dotcom Spying Operation Was Illegal, New Zealand High Court Rules

Original Submission