In an interesting case in New Zealand, Eminem's publisher won $415,000 (USD) plus interest against New Zealand's National Party who had used a song which sounded a lot like Eminem's 'Lose Yourself'.
In fact the track was called 'Eminem Esque' and the judge found that it sounded like a copy and reproduced the 'essence' of 'Lose Yourself'. The composer of the original seemed to have had the original in front of him when he wrote his own song.
The track had apparently been licensed from an Australia-based library which had in turn obtained it from a US supplier. The National Party is now considering its options and has reportedly lodged a claim against the supplier/licensor.
One lesson when licensing tracks is that if the deal/track sounds too good to be true, it probably is, and more digging may be required. This includes reading and understanding the tedious licensing terms (or getting someone else to check them for you).
Oh, and as a rule of thumb, anything tagged or named '[Artist/brand]-esque' should naturally be approached with caution!
“We think it’s a very strong judgment, and a cautionary tale for people who make or use sound-alikes around the world,” said Adam Simpson, a Sydney-based lawyer who represented Eminem publisher Eight Mile Style. “We hope that we see more original music in advertising as a result, and that writers get properly acknowledged and rewarded for their hard work.” "The National Party ran a television ad 186 times that used the song “Eminem Esque” during its successful 2014 election campaign before pulling the ad off the air.
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