National Party removes TikTok videos over potential copyright breach, film studios contacted

National leader Christopher Luxon reportedly said he wasn't aware of any copyright issues with respect to the party's social media use. Photo / Alex Burton

The National Party has removed several TikTok videos featuring movie and television show content soon after an inquiry was made with various film studios.

The deleted videos included material from such productions as Breaking Bad, Star Wars, The Office, Finding Nemo, The Batman and Cars.

Newshub, owned by Warner Bros Discovery, is reporting it contacted Disney, Universal, Sony and Warner Bros Discovery last month to check if National had permission to use the material or if it was a breach of copyright.

A week after the inquiry, the videos featuring the content had been deleted, according to Newshub.

It could be an addition to the list of copyright issues the National Party has faced over the years, most notably when, in 2017, National was found guilty of breaching copyright for using Eminem’s track Lose Yourself for a 2014 election ad and was initially told to pay $600,000 before it was reduced by the Court of Appeal to $225,000 in 2018.

National’s campaign manager at the time Steven Joyce described the use of the “Eminem Esque” track as “pretty legal”.

On Wednesday, National leader Christopher Luxon told Newshub he was not aware of any further copyright issues.

Deputy leader Nicola Willis told reporters today she expected copyright law was followed and directed any further questions to party staff.

The Herald has contacted the party for comment.

Late last year, National had to remove an Instagram video attacking Labour because it had used a Katy Perry song “out of context” in the video.

Perry’s Did Somebody Say tune was attached to a video published on the social media app by National, which was titled Just be rich ft. The Labour Party - a reference to the Just Eat food delivery company, for which the song was an advertisement.

The video showed the percentage increase in the cost of various food items with the caption “Under Labour, food prices have skyrocketed”.

However, the move backfired after Just Eat-owned Menulog, which operates in New Zealand, contacted National and requested the video be removed over an apparent copyright issue.

In April, National was forced to re-edit a campaign ad to avoid breaching copyright laws after a trailer had to be taken down for potential copyright infringement.

National uploaded a trailer for a video on former Minister Stuart Nash’s Cabinet Manual breaches, which used extensive footage from Newshub’s TV bulletins. Warner Bros Discovery, the owners of Newshub, sent a “cease and desist” cautionary letter asking National to take the trailer down.