FILE - In this April 15, 2012, file photo, Eminem performs at the 2012 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. A New Zealand court ordered on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017, the nation’s main... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this April 15, 2012, file photo, Eminem performs at the 2012 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. A New Zealand court ordered on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017, the nation’s main conservative political National Party to pay Eminem’s publisher 600,000 New Zealand dollars ($415,000)... (Associated Press) 
 
 WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A New Zealand judge said Eminem's lyrics "You own it, you better never let it go" turned out to be prophetic after ruling a political party breached copyright by using a song similar to Eminem's "Lose Yourself" in its campaign ads. 
 
 High Court Judge Helen Cull on Wednesday ordered the conservative National Party to pay the Detroit rapper's publisher 600,000 New Zealand dollars ($415,000) plus interest. 
 
 The case earlier featured odd moments such as gowned lawyers listening studiously to profanity-laced rap and Eminem collaborator Jeff Bass flying in from Detroit to play the song's distinctive opening riff, which he wrote. 
 
 "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." 
 
 Speaking by phone from Detroit, Eight Mile Style publisher Joel Martin said he'd been infuriated during the trial by the defense's absurd contention that "Lose Yourself" wasn't original because it used the same chords as other songs. 
 
 "They could have said anything but question its originality," he said. 
 
 Martin said he hadn't yet discussed the ruling with Eminem, aka Marshall Mathers III, but was glad the rapper hadn't been needed to travel to New Zealand "to watch the paint dry in the court room." 
 
 National Party President Peter Goodfellow said in statement he was disappointed with the ruling. He said the party purchased the music in good faith from an Australia-based library that had bought it from a U.S. supplier. 
 
 He said the party was considering its next steps and had already lodged a claim against the suppliers and licensors of the sound-alike track. 
 
 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. 
 
 In her 132-page ruling, Cull said "Eminem Esque" sounded like a copy and was a copy, reproducing the essence of "Lose Yourself." She said it was no coincidence the composer of "Eminem Esque" had the music to the original in front of him when he wrote his song. 
 
 The judge based the amount of the award on a hypothetical license fee that the party might have paid to use the song. She noted that Eight Mile Style rarely grants permission to use "Lose Yourself" in advertising. 
 
 Cull stopped short of awarding additional damages, saying the party had only used the song after receiving professional advice that it could do so, and hadn't acted recklessly. She has yet to rule on who will pay the hefty legal costs. 
 
 The National Party was ridiculed back in 2014 when the case was first filed and lawmaker Steven Joyce defended using the song, an action he said was "pretty legal." 
 
 "Pretty legal? That's not a concept that exists. That's like being sort-of dead," TV show host John Oliver later joked on "Last Week Tonight." 
 
 The ruling comes at a difficult time for the conservative party, which just lost the 2017 election to a coalition headed by the liberal Labour Party. ||||| FILE - In this April 15, 2012, file photo, Eminem performs at the 2012 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. They may not have lost themselves in the music or the moment but a judge... (Associated Press) 
 
 WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — They may not have lost themselves in the music or the moment but a judge and nine lawyers in a New Zealand courtroom did listen politely to Eminem's "Lose Yourself" as a copyright trial involving the country's ruling political party began Monday. 
 
 The Detroit-based music publishers for Eminem are suing New Zealand's conservative National Party, alleging the soundtrack for a 2014 election campaign ad copied the rapper's acclaimed 2002 song. Titled "Eminem Esque," the track has the familiar urgent, pulsing beat of the original. 
 
 The party has previously said it purchased the track through an Australian-based supplier and doesn't believe it has infringed anyone's copyright. 
 
 In 2014, when the case was filed, lawmaker Steven Joyce said he thought the use of the song was "pretty legal," and that Eminem's team "are just having a crack and a bit of an eye for the main chance because it's an election campaign." That response was widely ridiculed, including by comedian John Oliver on his show "Last Week Tonight." 
 
 "Pretty legal? That's not a concept that exists. That's like being sort-of dead," Oliver joked on the show. 
 
 Spokespeople for both Joyce and the National Party said Monday they wouldn't be commenting while the case was before the court. 
 
 Garry Williams, the lawyer for Eminem's music publishers Eight Mile Style, told the High Court in Wellington that the National Party had wanted a song that was edgy and modern but showed the party was dependable. He said the music fared better with focus groups than a classical piece. 
 
 He quoted from National Party emails, including one in which the song is described as an Eminem "sound-alike" and another in which an agent for the party wrote "I guess the question we're asking, if everyone thinks it's Eminem, and it's listed as Eminem Esque, how can we be confident that Eminem doesn't say we're ripping him off?" 
 
 Williams said the emails showed it was "utterly clear" the party knew it was using a copyrighted song. 
 
 Speaking outside the court, Joel Martin, a spokesman for Eminem's music publishers, said he was surprised the two sides hadn't settled and that going to trial against an entity like a governing political party was unusual and extraordinary. 
 
 "The bottom line is we would never have permitted the use of the song in any political advertisement," he said. 
 
 Martin said the publishers are seeking both a cash settlement for an undisclosed amount and an acknowledgement by the court that the National Party breached copyright. He said that by pursuing the case, they are showing they take copyright infringement around the world seriously. 
 
 He said the political views of the National Party were not a factor: "We are Americans and we don't know about politics in New Zealand," he said. 
 
 Judge Helen Cull ruled that some details in the case would remain confidential because they were commercially sensitive. 
 
 The judge-only case is expected to last about six days and will determine whether copyright was breached. The amount of any damages would be decided later.
– A New Zealand judge said Eminem's lyrics "You own it, you better never let it go" turned out to be prophetic after ruling that a political party breached copyright by using a song similar to Eminem's "Lose Yourself" in its campaign ads. High Court Judge Helen Cull on Wednesday ordered the conservative National Party to pay the Detroit rapper's publisher $415,000 plus interest, the AP reports. The party ran a TV ad 186 times that used the song "Eminem Esque" during its successful 2014 election campaign before pulling the ad off the air. In her 132-page ruling, Cull said "Eminem Esque" reproduced the essence of "Lose Yourself" and that it was no coincidence the composer of "Eminem Esque" had the music to the original in front of him when he wrote his song. The judge based the amount of the award on a hypothetical license fee the party might have paid to use Eminem's song. Cull also noted that Eminem publisher Eight Mile Style rarely OKs the use of "Lose Yourself" in ads. She stopped short of awarding additional damages, saying the party had only used the song after receiving expert advice it could do so and hadn't acted recklessly. The odd case had featured moments such as gowned lawyers listening studiously to profanity-laced rap. "We think it's a very strong judgment, and a cautionary tale for people who make or use soundalikes around the world," says an Eight Mile Style lawyer. National Party President Peter Goodfellow said in a statement he was disappointed with the ruling and that the party purchased the music in good faith from an Australia-based library that bought it from a US supplier; the party has filed a claim against the track's suppliers and licensers. An Eight Mile Style rep says he hasn't discussed the ruling with Eminem, aka Marshall Mathers III.