Men At Work will have to pay millions of dollars in compensation after a court ruled that the song `Down Under` ripped off the ancient `Kookaburra Sits In An Old Gum Tree`.
Marion Sinclair wrote the `Kookaburra` song 70 years ago for a Girl Guides competition. It was first performed in 1934 in Frankston, Victoria.The current copyright owner Larrikin Music started legal proceedings in June 2009 and won victory today, thanks to Justice Peter Jacobsen.
Colin Hay and Ron Strykert wrote `Down Under`. It 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.
