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OzOzOz

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  1. A judge in Sydney has ordered the Australian band Men at Work to hand over a portion of the royalties from their 1980s hit Down Under, after previously ruling its distinctive flute riff was copied from a children's campfire song.

     

    But the penalty he imposed of 5% of the song's royalties was far less than the 60% sought by publishing company Larrikin Music, which holds the copyright for the song Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree.

     

    Kookaburra was written more than 70 years ago by Australian teacher Marion Sinclair for a Guides competition, and the song about the native Australian bird has been a favourite around campfires from New Zealand to Canada.

     

    Sinclair died in 1988, but Larrikin filed a copyright lawsuit last year. In February, federal court judge Peter Jacobson ruled Men at Work had copied their song's signature flute melody from Kookaburra.

     

    Today, Jacobson ordered Men at Work's recording company, EMI Songs Australia, and Down Under songwriters Colin Hay and Ron Strykert, to pay 5% of royalties earned from the song since 2002 and from its future earnings. A statute of limitations restricted Larrikin from seeking royalties earned before 2002.

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