Royalty Verdict in Men At Work case

Ron Strykert, co-writer of <i>Down Under</i>. Photo / Wikimedia Commons

Sydney - The composers of the legendary 1980s international pop smash hit Down Under have been ordered to pay a share of earnings from the song after it was found to have breached copyright law.

Federal Court Justice Peter Jacobson in February deemed the famous flute riff from Men at Work's song was unmistakably the same as the children's tune Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree.

The original melody was penned more than 75 years ago by Toorak teacher Marion Sinclair for a Girl Guides competition and copyright ownership is now held by Larrikin Music.

In the Federal Court in Sydney on Tuesday, Justice Jacobson ordered music group EMI and Down Under songwriters Colin Hay and Ron Strykert to pay five per cent of royalties from the song dating back to 2002 and from future earnings to Larrikin.

The figure was well below the up to 60 per cent sought by Larrikin.

"I've come to the view that the appropriate figure ... is five per cent," Justice Jacobson said in his judgment.

"In my opinion the figures put forward by Larrikin are over-reaching, excessive and in my view unrealistic."

The song, released by Men at Work in 1982, went to No 1 on the Australian, British and American charts.

Justice Jacobson said that when calculating the percentage payable he had to look at the weight of "the significance of the bars of Kookaburra to the overall musical qualities of Down Under."

"Whether the hypothetical bargain is assessed at 1982 or 2002, the percentage interest payable is at the lowest end of the spectrum," he said.

AAP