By Amanda Gillies
The Aussie pop group Men At Work face a multi-million dollar bill for royalties, after losing a controversial court case over the rights to their most famous hit.
A judge found the song ‘Down Under’ was largely lifted from an old Girl Guide song – called ‘Kookaburra Sits In The Old Gum Tree’ – penned more than 75 years ago by a country school teacher.
The judge ruled the famous flute riff was unmistakably the same as the children’s tune, written in 1934.
This could mean a big pay day for publishing firm Larrikin Music, who took EMI and ‘Down Under’ to court.
“We say in the song there is at least half of Kookaburra distributed through various parts of the song and repeated various times,” says lawyer for Larrikin Music, Adam Simpson.
“That has now been supported by this judge.”
EMI and the ‘Down Under’ songwriters may be forced to hand over as much as 60 percent of their earnings from the international hit record.
The song has made millions – it was sung in movies, ads, and even featured at the Olympics.
Marion Sinclair wrote her song for the Girl Guides. It wasn’t until 2007, when a television show pointed out the similarities, that legal action was launched.
“It’s been a long haul for them – we’re very happy with the result,” says Mr Simpson.
EMI described the judgement as complex.
“We’ll just review it and decide our next options and take it from there,” says John Anderson of EMI.
The judge ruled a Qantas advert, which used a similar section of the riff, was not in breach of copyright laws.
3 News