Men At Work to pay royalties to ‘Kookaburra’ copyright owner

The band Men at Work was sued for infringing upon the copyright of the children’s song “Kookaburra Sits In The Old Gum Tree”. In February 2010 a judge in Australia ruled hat Men At Work’s song “Down Under” used the melody as the flute riff or ‘hook’ of the song. The owner of “Kookaburra”‘s copyright, Larrikin Publishing, is seeking between 40% and 60% of the song’s royalties for the last six years. Lawyers for both sides are set to arrange a financial agreement on February 25, 2010.