Clive Palmer accused of giving false evidence in Twisted Sister copyright dispute

Clive Palmer has repeatedly been accused of giving false evidence during cross-examination in a copyright dispute over his political party’s use of a cover of the Twisted Sister song We’re Not Gonna Take It.

The former federal MP and mining magnate appeared before the federal court on Thursday as part of his legal defence against Universal Music’s accusation he infringed copyright by using a cover of the 1980s glam metal hit in a series of political advertisements before the 2019 election.

Palmer denied giving false evidence, saying that David Wright, the video producer who worked on the song, was a “low-down person” who had “no idea what I was going to do”.

Lawyers for Palmer have argued that the song did not infringe copyright because, they claim, the original song was a “rip-off” of the hymn O Come, All Ye Faithful. Palmer also claims that he wrote new lyrics for the jingle, which used the words: “Australia ain’t gonna cop it, no Australia’s not gonna cop it, Aussies not gonna cop it any more”.

Related: Twisted Sister frontman tells court Clive Palmer 'not good for my image' in copyright case

The court has previously heard that Wright, had originally sought a licence to use the Twisted Sister song, before the words were changed. On Wednesday the director of the Palmer United party admitted it was “misleading” of Palmer’s representatives to suggest the former MP had been the “composer” of the song.

But in court on Thursday, Palmer claimed he had written the words of the jingle while “in deep contemplation” in bed at 3am on a notepad that he kept beside his bed, something he said “creative people” do. He had originally written “Australian’s are not prepared to accept it”, but decided the final version was “more punchy”. Palmer said the note was then thrown “in the trash” by his staff.

Palmer told the court the words used in the jingle had been inspired by the 1976 Academy Award-winning film Network, in which the character played by the actor Peter Finch repeatedly says: “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not gonna take this any more.”

“He repeatedly stated ‘we’re not gonna take it any more,’ I think before he committed suicide ... from that I developed ‘Australians are not prepared to accept it’,” Palmer told the court.

But Palmer was repeatedly accused of giving false evidence by Universal Music’s barrister, Peter Flynn SC. He put it to Palmer that his evidence about the bedside note was “made up”, which Palmer denied, and at one stage asked the mining billionaire if he cared whether “something is true or not”.

“Do you understand this is not a political interview?” Flynn asked at one stage.

“Yes,” Palmer replied.

Pushed by Flynn on the concession by Wright, that he had sought a licence to use the original song, Palmer said Wright was a “low-down person” who had “no idea what I was going to do”.

He then said that after being told of the fee for using the original song, he refused, based, he said, on the belief that Twisted Sister’s song was in fact a cover of the 18th-century hymn O Come, All Ye Faithful, which he repeatedly mispronounced as O Come, Holy Faithful. He told the court he dealt in “billions of dollars” worth of business transactions and didn’t care about the money but “the principle”.

“I just care about being ripped off by charlatans,” he said.

At one stage Palmer said “the poor monk who wrote the melody” of the hymn deserved copyright payments.

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Later in the hearing Palmer was played earlier studio recordings of the musicians who made the advertising jingle. In one early version, the musicians used the original lyrics from the Twisted Sister song.

“Mr Palmer, you would agree that’s a cover version of the Twisted Sister song We’re Not Gonna Take It? Flynn asked.

“We would say it’s a cover version of their cover version of O Come Holy Faithful,” Palmer replied.

Palmer then said the musicians “certainly didn’t have our instructions” to record that version.

“I don’t know I wasn’t involved in the recording of these, [it was] stuff the musicians did amongst themselves. [They] may have done anything,” he said.

“They were doing creative versions and sending stuff to me to look at. This certainly didn’t go any further this one.”