A lawsuit down under.

While the Men may still be at Work, they’re going to owe someone some money.  Men at Work, the Australian band whose massive hit “Land Down Under” became an iconic song for their native Australia throughout the world, has repeatedly been dogged by rumors that the song’s famous flute riff was stolen from the song “Kookaburra,” which was written by a woman named Marion Sinclair for a Girl Guides song competition more than 70 years ago.  Well, as it turns out, the rumors were true, at least according to Judge Peter Jacobson.  Men at Work songwriters Colin Hay and Ron Strykert are being forced to pay 5 percent of their “Land Down Under” royalties to Larrikin Music, who holds the rights to “Kookaburra”.

Here’s the video for “Land Down Under.”  Decide for yourself if the flute riff is stolen:

Sinclair died in 1988, but Larrikin only sued in 2009 and can only get royalties back to 2002.  Good luck figuring out what is owed you, because odds are it’s either quite a bit or much less than the cost of actually filing the lawsuit.  Then again, you do get a piece of that “Land Down Under” money forever, or until the copyright lapses, so I’d imagine that can be quite lucrative, assuming someone makes another Crocodile Dundee movie.

Tags: Men at Work, Land Down Under, Kookaburra, Land Down Under stole Kookaburra flute riff, unusual lawsuits, music, rock and roll, Marion Sinclair, Peter Jacobson, Larrikin Music, Colin Hay, Ron Strykert, music lawsuit, Land Down Under stolen flute riff, unusual lawsuits, copyright law

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