Men at Work have been ordered to pay compensation after a court ruled they had plagiarised one of their biggest hits from a Girl Guides song.
The track, 'Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree', was written by Marion Sinclair 70 years ago for a Girl Guides competition and was first performed in 1934.
The current copyright owner Larrikin Music filed a copyright lawsuit in June 2009 against the group, claiming the flute riff from their 1980s hit 'Down Under' was stolen from the ‘Kookaburra’ song.
A federal court in Sydney ruled today that the riff had been taken from Sinclair's song and Justice Peter Jacobsen ordered the band to pay compensation.
Larrikin Music, who owns the rights to the song, told the Associated Press it may seek up to 60% of the royalties 'Down Under' has made since it was released.
‘Down Under’ was written by Colin Hay and Ron Strykert and went to number one all over the world.
The song was also the first song by an Australian act to sit at number one simultaneously in the USA and UK charts.
Both parties are due back in court on February 25 to discuss the compensation.
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