The final appeal by the Australian band Men At Work against a ruling, which determined that their 1983 hit Down Under was partially copied from a folk song, will not be allowed.
A July 2010 ruling, which found that a flute line from Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree was copied, was upheld by the High Court of Australia, denying their final attempt to quash it.
Since 2002, they had been ordered to pay 5% of their song earnings, in addition to future royalties, to the copyright holders.
The decision was confirmed by Australia’s Federal Court during an appeal in March.
After the death of composer Marion Sinclair two years prior, publishers Larrikin Music acquired the rights to the classic Kookaburra folk song in 1990.
They sought to claim 60% of the royalties from Down Under, a chart-topping track that narrates the journey of a backpacker around the world, famously mentioning Vegemite sandwiches and the term “chunder”.
Co-written by Colin Hay and Ron Strykert, the song achieved number one status in Australia, the US, and the UK.
The band claimed that any connection to Sinclair’s song was “inadvertent, naive, unconscious”.
Record label EMI contended that the inclusion of two bars from the folk tune was intended as a tribute rather than plagiarism.
Mark Bamford, an EMI lawyer, expressed disappointment regarding the High Court’s decision.
