Eminem has allowed Joe Biden to use his 'Lose Yourself' song for the US Democratic presidential candidate's election campaign - the same song National was taken to court over.
The 48-year-old Grammy Award winner posted a black-and-white official campaign ad to Instagram the day before the US election, in favour of Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris, with his track 'Lose Yourself' playing in the background.
"One opportunity... #Vote," Eminem captioned the clip on Instagram, the same video which has been posted on Twitter by Biden referencing the 'Lose Yourself' song's lyrics: "We have one shot. One Opportunity. One moment."
It's the same song that landed the National Party in a years-long legal battle after Eminem's company Eight Mile Style accused the political party of ripping off the song in a 2014 campaign ad to get then-leader John Key re-elected.
Eminem's publishers filed a lawsuit with the High Court in Wellington in September 2016, accusing National, its advertising agency and others involved of creating and licensing an instrumental version of the rapper's song without consent.
Former National MP Steven Joyce described the ad in 2014 as "pretty legal" and insisted the party had gone through all the necessary licensing procedures.
"We think it's pretty legal, we think these guys are just having a crack and have a bit of an eye for the main chance because it's an election campaign," Joyce said. "I think they're just trying to shake us down for some money before the election."
National rejected the allegation it infringed the rapper's work and said the backing to produce the track called 'Eminem Esque' came from an Australian-based production outfit.
Joyce's description of the lawfulness of the ad as "pretty legal" became the laughing stock of US TV show host and comedian John Oliver.
"Pretty legal? That is not a concept that exists. That's like being sort of dead," Oliver joked in 2014.
The High Court ruled against National, ordering them to pay more than $600,000 for copyright infringement. This was partially overturned by the Court of Appeal of New Zealand in May 2019, which reduced the damages to $225,000.
The initial $600,000 figure reflected the licensing fee National would have been charged for permission to use 'Lose Yourself' in the ad, the court heard in 2017.
A representative for Eminem told US magazine Variety in 2017 that he was not consulted about the case against National, but any money he received from it would be donated to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.
Eminem has been vocal in his opposition to US President Donald Trump. At the 2017 BET Awards, the superstar dedicated a five-minute freestyle rap to mocking the President.
The lawsuit against National wasn't the first time Eminem's team launched legal action over copyright infringement. In 2004, Apple was sued for using an Eminem song in one of its TV ads without permission.
