Men At Work's record label bosses have lost their bid to overturn a copyright ruling relating to the band's 1980s hit ‘Down Under’.
A judge in Australia ruled last year that the flute solo in the track samples parts of ‘Kookaburra Sits In The Old Gum Tree’, a song written by a music teacher for the Girl Guides in 1934.
The song's composers were ordered to pay Larrikin Music publishers, the company which owns the rights to ‘Kookaburra’, five percent of Down Under's proceeds dating back to 2002, as well as royalties from future earnings.
Executives at music giant EMI appealed the ruling, arguing the riff was a form of tribute and the similarities had gone unnoticed for years, but the legal challenge has now been rejected by a three-judge panel.
EMI bosses have been ordered to pay court costs for the appeal as well as the money now owed in royalties to Larrikin Music.
WENN.com