Notorious Copyright Cases - Men At Work "Down Under" (Larrikin Music Vs EMI Songs Australia) 

This legal case still HAUNTS me, and I was relieved to see you correctly reported that I had SOLD my music publishing company, Larrikin Music (although I retained the record label of the same name until selling it to Festival Records in 1993) a decade BEFORE the new owners of Larrikin Music, Music Sales International, commenced their appalling, misguided legal action. I repeatedly called for the case to be dropped and that the children's song be gifted to the nation. Such is life. Warren Fahey.

I feel so bad for Greg because this whole nasty lawsuit basically destroyed him in his last days which he in no way deserved. RIP Greg Hamm

They killed a man (basically) for a little bit of money on a piece of music the owners didn't write. Sickening.

Great work.. Lawyers got 4.5million and the creator got 10pound. That's the real crime

The behaviour of Larrikin is akin to patent squatting. They didn’t create Kookaburra, essentially they bought it at a deceased estate auction, and from a woman whose motivation was never about money. It’s Men at Work’s “Down Under” I hold with great affection. Kookaburra will forever leave a bitter taste in my mouth.

I believe that those that knew the flute part was Kookaburra thought, like I, that Kookaburra was NOT copyrighted, that it was in the public domain.

I'll always remember Greg Ham for his amazing sax solo on Who Can It Be Now.

I heard Down Under in Los Angeles 8 months before it hit big. I knew immediately it was going to be a monster hit. In the U.S., we were taught Kookaburra in elementary school music class in the 1960s so I was totally familiar with it. I would never have associated Down Under with Kookaburra.

Colin Hay kills it in acoustic live shows to this day! 2023. The guy is a gem!

l knew it was the Kookaburra song in 81 / 82 but didn't think anything of it other than it was Australiana cleverly used in a song about Australia. l'm sure it didn't go un noticed by many Aussies . That song is part of every Aussies DNA

Copyright is sooo over-extended compared to its intended purpose. It was intended to stop sheet music publishers reprinting other publisher's material thereby causing a loss of sales - copying whole pieces of music or at least substantial sections. Now it's got to the stage where fragments of riffs taken waaay out of context are protected even though the new work causes absolutely no harm or loss to the owner of the earlier work.

Saddening. Rest in peace Greg Ham. Great band and great song from the 80's. We should not let the greed of Larrikin completely tarnish Down Under & Men At Work.

This sickens me so much, greed plagued so many good things an destroyed so many good people... RIP Greg Ham

I can't believe what was a musical nod, ended up spiraling Greg Ham into depression and death. Can you imagine if this went down in the jazz world? How many people would get sued for playing 2 bars of a Coltrane riff? I never knew about this story until now. Greg didn't deserve what happened to him. Damn the owners of Larikin Music Music Sales International.

The fact that the overwhelming majority only notice the similarity when being dipped right into it with the nose just goes to show that upon being used in such a creative manner something new has been created. In my opinion, the six-notes-lick played before the two individual Kookaburra lines are pure genius, very recognizable, and now that I'm aware of the fact, I will view them as the musical version of the phrase: "As someone once put it...".

I hope Larrikin Music never recovered their reputation after this. Such a tragic turn of events.

My guess - if we'd ever heard from Greg Ham in the court case - is that he'd say the song was so ubiquitous that he assumed it was much older than it was, a traditional folk tune, and thus probably public domain.

Copyright law seems more designed to help the corporation than an artist. 70 years after death seems a silly amount of time its like its designed to make sure your music is forgotten.

She wrote this tune out of love of Australia as did men at work😁🇭🇲 Music is Art why drag such a classic into the mud😁🇭🇲

I recognised the Kookaburra riff from the very first time I heard it all those years ago. However, I always thought it was very clever the way it was incorporated and that Kookaburra was an old song in the public domain. What a messy outcome.

The Lady who actually wrote the original song, who sounds like a great person, must of heard the song because it was so massive and would be more difficult not to of hear it play. Yet, she never raised any objection. Disgusting work by the parasites of the 'music' industry yet again.

The real crime is that Greg Ham added what we all KNOW Is the real hook of Down Under and yet didn't receive a writing credit from the band. That's ridiculous.

"It came to her while she was in church". How ironic if they were singing a hymn and she heard something in that music which triggered her idea.

Reminds me of the Led Zeppelin case. The riff in question in that case turns out to have previously been a note/chord progression in a composition from a composer in the 1600's. No doubt you could probably dig back and find the same Kookaburra melody buried in an earlier composition. With only 12 notes to rearrange into any song there's going to be some overlap somewhere.

The most ironic point about this case is that it gave the track a whole new launch.. the case gave the song more publicity than ever before. As an Aussie, I am so super proud of Men at Work.. awesome track that will live forever.. every Aussie loves this track..❤

I find this whole story so frustrating on every level. Thanks for laying it out straight for us traxploitation!

An excellent video which, in my opinion, highlights a number of problems with the underlying copyright law: 1. "Life of the author + 70 years" is just TOO long a term, it places the interests of authors' heirs (or their assignees) above those of creative artists or anyone else wishing to reuse something that has become historic material. A fixed copyright term of "50 years from publication" would be much fairer (as well as being far simpler to operate in practice). If a work still has value after 50 years, that is because it has been incorporated into the common culture, at which point it should enter into the public domain and be free for anyone to use. 2. The "substantial part of a copyrighted work" test leads to anomalous results where, as here, the portion being used is not in itself substantial, but forms a substantial percentage of a very short work. 3. There also needs to be a "fair use" exception for short musical (and other) quotations which do not create a substitute for the original copyrighted material impacting its commercial value. (Such quotations could even add value by drawing attention to the original work.) 4. There needs to be a statute of limitations to block cases where the allegedly infringing work has been known about for many years. 5. The biggest winners in this case were the lawyers.

i am American and 50 years old and i have never heard of the "Kookaburra" song, it would have been heartwarming to know the Women that wrote it had received a little more money for a song that apparently many children around the world had loved. as far as Men At Work whom i love, it would feel like more as an homage than anything else and feels too small to me to warrant a copyright case. that said if ANYONE involved between that band and the record company knew at all that ANYTHING is being used in ANY context they should have certainly checked into it the copyright and received proper permission first. THAT said from it does NOT sound like Marion Sinclair was particularly concerned with making money from the song and i suspect she probably would not have wanted a whole bitter trial and court case over it. it always comes across badly when some company wants to start a lawsuit for seemingly greedy reasons. there are a few music legends out there whos names and reputations feels a little tarnished now by greedy family members constantly bringing cases against people for a cash grab. i saw Men At Work once, back around 2000 give a take a year and they were a blast. both Colin and Greg were a ton of fun and personality. so dont worry Greg that is how I will remember you.

I will always remember Greg Ham as an inspired, creative and versatile musician. He wrote "Helpless Automaton". Sad that he never knew how much he was appreciated by musicphiles such as myself.

Copyright laws are a nightmare. It also seems to me that more often than protecting the actual artists, claims mostly feed label owners and lawyers.

I think its cute how a couple musicians are guilty of infringement, but the court went out of its way to absolve Quantas FOR THE EXACT SAME SONG.

And another point... The extension of copyright for longer and longer periods has absolutely nothing to do with looking out for the creator's descendants - it is entirely about publishers being able to milk the rights for as long as possible and any benefit to the descendents is entirely collateral damage (assuming the publisher actually pays the royalties without having to be audited and sued by said descendants).

Fun fact: The vocal melody in "What a Wonderful World" is based on "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", another example of evoking a theme by referencing a traditional melody. "Twinkle Twinkle" is well in the public domain, so... there's that.

Wow, we sang "Kookaburra" in the classroom in elementary school. I had forgotten that the class had sung this song. I never would have put all of this together until this video!

I’m an ex-Aussie who emigrated to the UK in 2001 and had no idea this had gone on. For what it’s worth I always assumed that the flute riff was indeed Kookaburra with it being a nod to the Aussieness of Australian culture depicted Down Under. I’ve always thought that from my first time seeing the music video on Countdown (not that Countdown, the Aussie show hosted by Ian ”Molly” Meldrum (RIP)) in 1979 and then bugging my Dad to buy the album just so I could listen to it over and over - it was the Vegemite sandwich line that hooked me because that’s all I ate almost. I was addicted to them. Personally I think it was pretty pathetic of Larikin Music to seek restitution for something they didn’t realise or know about until long after Ms Sinclair’s death, who herself didn’t seek to claim copyright, and only did when it was highlighted on a quiz show. Had that quest not been asked on that tv show the court case wouldn’t have happened after all. PS: To the creator- a great overview of the facts and a well produced video. 👍🏼👏🏼

Jazz musicians quote popular songs all the time in the midst of their solos - and to my knowledge never get pinned for copyright infringement. They're just playfully referring to part of a well-know song. I feel that this is the case in "Down Under".

What a great video. I'm not Australian, so never knew of "Kookaburra", but I wore out a copy of "Business as Usual" on 8-Track in the early 80s... I never knew any of this went down.

This wasn't plagiarism it was tribute and appreciation.

My original copy of "live at red rocks" by U2 back in the early 80s contains a clip of "send in the clowns". All subsequent versions have it stripped out. To this day, I cannot hear "electric Co." without hearing Bono singing the words to send in the clowns in the middle of the song. I think all music is influenced by other music. Musicians are the true gems among us… If we allow record labels to destroy the musicians, we are only hurting ourselves.

So tragically ironic that a folk music publishing company were so intent on securing copyright monies in the way that they did. The whole idea of folk music is that it passes on ideas and melodies from one generation to another with variations and reinventions happening all the time, all to keep the line of culture going. I was so glad to see that original Larrikin owner Warren Fahey was given full absolution here, and even happier to see him have his own say in the comments. I actually ended a friendship with someone because they refused to acknowledge that Warren's time at Larrikin had ended even before the acquisition of 'Kookaburra' (and this person was a self-proclaimed "folky" and Australian rock historian). This was one of the most tragic and unnecessary chapters in Australian music history. R.I.P. Greg Ham.

I greatly appreciate your dedication to crafting these well-produced videos.

This old Yank used to sing Kookaburra in grade school in the early-mid 60's. So I'm quite familiar with the song. When Down Under was released, not once did I associate it with Kookaburra. To me, Down Under was a unique song.

Can't help thinking of Pete Ham, the poor chap who was ripped off after writing Without You, and subsequently committed suicide in 1974. It's since been covered by 180 artists and his estate finally received half a million in royalties, but it's a tragic story like Greg Ham's. The music business is brutal.

I was never a fan of Men at Work until in June of 2022 I went to a Ringo Starr concert, and one of the All-Star Band members was Colin Hay, founder of Men At Work. I was impressed. The man was possibly the most talented man on the stage, which included Ringo and Edgar Winter, among others.

Today's "artists" "sample" other's work and get massive accolades for their "talent". This case was just nonsense.

So many songs have musical references to older songs within them. A musical nod is not a ripoff. I heard about the lawsuit in the US and thought it was awful and greedy on the part of the entity that brought the suit. As well as the death of the band member that followed.

Whilst the "spicks and specks" brought the similarities to mainstream attention, I can recall being in primary school in the 1980s and nearly all the kids would sing the "kookaburra" words during the flute solo. We just assumed when we became adults that it was a nursery rhyme like "humpty dumpty" or "mary had a little lamb" and never thought someone would try to make royalties AFTER the death of the writer. This song is almost akin to a national anthem. When overseas I sometimes hear it in on the radio or in shopping malls and it reminds me of the things I miss about our great country.

I think this is the problem with copyright being bought up by recording companies. I think the original author should retain rights until they pass. AT that point, it should become public domain. So much of music is based on what came before that trying to sue artists over it ultimately only works to destroy music.

This is a very balanced, laudable take - but there is one element that lies at the heart of the case that is just as wrong here as it was in the opinion of three of the four judges involved: Whether something is a "substantial part" in a copyright dispute cannot just look at the purported original while _ignoring its length_ (tiny) and downplaying the part this element plays in the purported copy (which isn't all that much, and is also plainly a reference to Australian culture, so arguably a quote covered by fair use). Taken to an extreme, this elementary error of application would mean that a work consisting of only two or three notes would be "substantially copied" by pretty much everybody else.

I honestly thought it was public domain. I would argue that it had, at some point, become folk-music due to the fact it _was_ so familiar and that it gave instant 'Australian' vibes by its very nature. Which is why we are all familiar with the riff, but unable to actually place it by name. It's more about Australianess than about the song itself, or who wrote it

I wonder how it would have played out if 'Men at Work' in recognition of the 'Kookaburra' had donated some of their Royalties at the time? The flute rift was the thing we whistled at school when the record was out. Great video and thank you for sharing.👍🏻

No doubt, a child heard a song and a worm of notes got stuck in his ear. Years later, that worm reemerged, and having a good ear or a scout book, a young man puts that childhood memory into one of his first songs, unaware of future consequences. Eventually, a holding company picks up the rights and sues everything in sight that used that string of notes. It's kinda like what happened to a birthday song in the USA that none can legally reproduce without a media company coming down on them. It is corporate bullying in the purest sense. It is also something that is currently happening with the Dungeons and Dragons franchise.

Excellent presentation. I live in the US and remember singing the Kookaburra song in grade school in the 70s. It was my first awareness of Australian culture. What a treasure. As a musician I believe that the use of the Kookaburra riff was likely intentional in Down Under but so what? It was cleverly done so as a nod to your culture, just not as obvious as a Vegemite sandwich. Sadly it wasn’t clever enough to evade the shameful lawsuit money grab attempt. Marion would have been shocked and appalled.

It is so sad that these iconic songs are at the centre of this. I feel for the band members of Men at Work and what this would have done to them. And while I believe that writers should have copyright protection, I think in this case - protection was not main factor.

Another great video, explaining how things work so very clearly, not dumbed down at all but still making sense to the likes of me! Your videos are always such a class act!!

So weird. When the song came out in the 80s I was in elementary school on the other side of the planet in Canada. We kids literally recognized the melody lift immediately. We just assumed it was a Aussie nod to the nursery rhyme. Like public domain stuff.

I had actually learned the Kookaburra song at school in the states. We had learned it as a round.

I had dealings with Warren I few years back. Such a nice bloke and to be dragged into this legal tragedy. It should never have happened and those responsible for the opportunist money grab will have to live with the consequences.

I grew up with the MAW song in New Zealand in the 80s and was always conscious of the musical quote from 'Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree'. Frankly I'm astounded that this was lost on so many people for literally decades.

This was a fantastic overview of what happened in this case. I knew the basics, so this was very interesting. I've been a fan of MAW for decades, and Greg Hamm was a clearly gifted musician with a great sense of humor and wit, and I also agree that this case sent him into a depression that ended his life. It's extremely sickening to hear that this scandal amounted to a meager $100,000 for Larrikin Music. I'm all with Fahey's comment about gifting Kookaburra to the people of Australia. Down Under played a massive role in spreading interest in Australian culture. It's as much an anthem of Australia as anything else.

I find it interesting that having just watched the whole video, I already can't remember the second half of the original song (all two bars of it). The idea that it was a "substantial part" of such a short song, while being such a small element of Down Under, and that Larrikin wanted half the royalties as a result (which they thankfully didn't get), is mad.

i noticed that the song also has the same chord structure sequence as " Waltzing Matilda" so its a right old aussie mash up from end to end

Outrageous that they thought 40 to 60 percent of royalties for 2 bars out of an entire song. Obviously they were quite delusional. I’ll be listening to Down Under is support of the band.

God I love this channel. I am literally spacing out the videos to make them last. Absolutely love everything you do here. You have SO much to offer us.

I love Down Under, but being in Canada I never really heard of Kookaburra or this legal trial. This was super well researched, thorough, and interestingly presented! Love this video!

A couple of points where missed/overlooked in this otherwise sensational video. Sometime after this case was concluded, a version of the song was re-released without the riff in question. The Luude versions, with and without Colin Hayes' contribution, re-introduced the riff and, to me knowledge, has not met with similar legal action taken against it. Which I find interesting.

Just discovered your channel and becoming a fan quickly the more I watch. This video of "Down Under" was the over-the-top video that made me a subscriber. Thanks for sharing your work.

As an American fan of the song, not knowing of any of this prior this little documentary and thus having just learned the nature and origination of that riff, I immediately came the same conclusion as the first judge in the first hearing. Like the rest of the song, it is just another element that I eventually came to understand about Australia culture. The song as a whole, to an American, or me at least, hits one as all Australian, but seems to take a lifetime to unfold. The flute riff only makes more sense to me now whereas before it was like “well that was an interesting choice that everyone seems to be behind.” It’s like I can say “I get it now,” but it’s more akin to Cat Steven’s ‘Cat’s Cradle’ or something like that. The use of that riff now only seems more apropos for the song regardless how much the melody does or does not carry the overall tune. This is a very weird and tragic tale. Again, I ultimately fall with the first judge’s decision but there’s a great deal of shoulda woulda coulda as to initially securing rights to use it which would have been dirt cheap, but it’s also understandable that they would have assumed it was already public domain. I don’t know, it just feels like they may as well say that all of Australia deserves all the proceeds from the song. Regardless, very sad…I wonder, too, if the game show question was planted? I hope I can still enjoy the song…maybe the lawyers could be sued for sucking some of the joy out of life.

Let the death of a beloved musician be on the heads of the scumbags at Larrikin. It was beyond necessary to to do this. I guess the Kraft people can also sue Colin and Ron for the usage of the word, and imagery of a "vegemite sandwich". Why not sue Quincy Jones for all of the Billie Jeans out there when he produced the record using their name for profit or gain. THAT is how unnecessary and ridiculous this was.

So disgusting this case ever happened...and Larrikin Music should have left the whole thing well and truly alone. 24:14 You're so much more than that Greg...RIP ! 🙁

I learned Kookaburra as a child in the Girl Scouts. A years later I became a Men At Work fan and noticed the similarity of the flute section to the song Kookaburra. This was back in 1983! Yet I find the copyright trial tragic. I wish it had never happened. RIP Greg Ham; you were my favorite member of the band. 😞

The flute riff does sound a little like "Kookaburra"; but that's about it. Otherwise, the two are entirely diffent songs.

I just wanted to say how much I thoroughly enjoyed this video and truly appreciate your hard work and careful attention to detail.

I feel very sad about the lack of humanity in the eyes of the publisher who was exercising a money grab . Weather it was right or wrong (to what amounts to a sample in todays music?) it could of have been handled better . God bless Greg Ham for his awesome talent and did not deserve the guilt trip that took his life. A sad story where everyone loses . I swear money is the devils right hand

Larrikin under the leadership of Norm Lurie is the Australian version of Pharma Bro (aka Martin Shkreli). Didn't do any of the work developing the original product but went after profits when they landed the rights to it. It's not like Lurie did this on behalf of the estate of Sinclair or her nominated beneficiaries. If Lurie has any shred of decency in him, he'd donate the $100k to the Sinclair family or the animal welfare trust Marion bequeathed.

Should've been a negotiated (small) participation long before it hit the courtroom. Overaggressive plaintiffs lawyers or client, the addition of the willful part was just silly. The judge's final determination was fair and accurate. If all the legal costs and heartache didn't happen, a similar settlement would've been better for all.

This video REALLY confuses me because I recognised the Kookaburra riff the very first time I heard the song, and treated it as one of those "reverential references", like when Sugarloaf play riffs by the Beatles and Billy Preston, in "Dont Call Us We'll Call You". I simply cannot believe that anyone would sue over something so innocuous and obvious.

The guy from Larakin saying "We are a little company taking on a big company" making it out to be like this scrappy underdog doesn't wash. What it looks like is a small company seeing dollar signs and bringing a lawsuit to try and cash in big time and take home a massive, massive paycheck for something that was done as a homage and in part of a much larger work that was entirely original. The use of it in Down Under should have been fair use, but Larrakin was so blinded by greed they did not care. When the case did not go quite the way they hoped its suddenly "Waah, waah, this big company is picking on us and they should pay our legal bill!"

Norm Lurie should be ashamed that his greed led directly to the death of Greg Ham, when the tune should have been deemed "fair use" all along.

I was so very sorry to hear about the tragic early death of Greg Ham. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. On the subject of this copyright claim, there is so much about this that almost defies belief. It is absolutely amazing to me that no one in the band, in the studio, from the production team, the label, the publicists etc etc, thought to point out that a piece of the recording they were involved in, was a well known (copyrighted) folk song! .. No one? They could have changed a note here and there.... The lady who wrote 'Kookabura' , Marion Sinclair (1896-1988), had to listen to her song being exploited.... by everyone! Without having ANYTHING nice to show for it. No one popped around with so much as a bag of sweeties(lollies) for this wonderful poet/ songwriter /Aussie legend when this was an international smash, playing on her TV and Radio... This to me, is one of the many great tragedies about this Great Auzzie debacle.

Every normal people noticed it instantly, yet it took 20 years for Music Industry Lawyers. That explains a lot.

Copyright laws in any country can be a very tricky area to navigate. But in the end, everything boils down to one basic factor: monies in perpetuity that can fuel many a battle. That said, Greg Ham didn't need to suffer as greatly as he did.

Netflix should make a documentary about this case. It’s insane how this all ended up.

My little opinion is that Hamm did use melodies from Kookaburra to give Down Under an Australian vibe whether knowingly or unwittingly. However, the subsequent legal debacle should never have happened. RIP GH, you deserved better.

I always noticed the similarity at the time but I never considered it might be some kind of plagiarism at the time. I guess I thought it was some kind of humorous tribute. I think I was 13 then. I did hear about the case much later and was surprised I didn't recall it. I had no idea it came from Spicks and Specks and was relatively recent. Thanks for the full story!

If I write a song which contains just four notes, anyone who ever repeats those four notes has stolen 100% of my song. Copyright law is ridiculous.

Australian here. Grew up with "Kookaburra sits ..." and this MAW song, and even had it played it at my wedding ... until it was pointed out ... never ever realised what it was. At the time I just recall thinking oh here is that damn flute bit again ... get it over with will you.

Great job on this video! Cool to see a comment by Warren Fahey too! I loved Men at Work back then, and last year, saw Colin Hay with Ringo's All-Stars, which rekindled my affection for Men at Work, and that great 1st album. I didn't know anything about this ridiculous lawsuit. Sad that it cost Colin and Gregg such anguish and finances. New subscriber here!

As an Australian (Melburnian), it was very cool to see Men At Work achieve something that many other domestically-successful local groups had not achieved internationally. It wasn't necessarily new to hear about an Aussie act achieving something overseas. Our very own Ian ''Molly'' Meldrum (Australia's Dick Clarke) would happily show off names like Rick Springfield, Air Supply, AC/DC, Little River Band, et al. in his copy of Billboard magazine, and assure us Aussies that these Aussie musicians were ''slaughtering them'' (whoever ''them'' were) in the US with lethal weapons like ''All Out Of Love'', and ''Jessie's Girl''. It was nice to see Men At Work ''slaugtering them'' in the US of A with their very own killing machine called ''Land Down Under''. Woohoo! To be frank, I never detected any similarities between the ''Kookaburra'' song and ''Land Down Under''. I used to sing the ''Kookaburra'' song when I was a little kid, but never connected the melody to the flute part in ''Down Under''. So, this whole thing just makes me feel terrible for Greg Ham. Not too sure if I can listen to either song without thinking about this case, and that somebody is now gone because of it. RIP Greg Ham

I am a 66 year old Australian and I have never heard of Kookaburra in an Old Gum Tree before this video. I must have been Under a Rock with an Old Goanna.

This is one of the most thorough channels on RU-vid...you MUST be a must lawyer...my new favourite channel

Colin's solo work is outstanding. I'm happy to have bought or heard all of his publicly available songs. he's simply a gifted song writer. he's also entertaining as hell just talking. there only been 2 other artists who's solo work I've followed and enjoyed like Colin. John Fogerty and Tom Cochrane.

Copyright Law should be overhauled. Simply stated, any Copyright should investigate the intentions of the author for writing/composing any piece. All Copyright should stem from this. Although in this case, Copyright seemed to exist long after the author had passed away and her intention was not to make money. This fact alone should have made it public domain. A limit should then placed on any true Copyright beyond the death of the author to 20 years only.

Larrikin spent $2.5 million to get $50,000. They own a small piece of one song and have a lot of bad blood for the publishing company.

I dispute the idea that "nobody" noticed the connection until it came up on the quiz show, because I'm Canadian, and a girl I knew in the late 90s mentioned this connection to me. She had learned the kookaburra song on the recorder in music class as a kid and her teacher mentioned that it was referenced in the MAW song. Maybe it wasn't universal knowledge, but it wasn't new news by any measure.

I always recognised The Thomas The Tank Engine tune then realised it is lifted from the instrumental bit in the middle of the extended or London Town version of With A Little Luck. Whether Ringo claimed he’d written the tune as an add on to his narration is unknown to me. 😁👍

Great work! Loving this channel! I'd love to see more DnB related content. I learned so many classic Reggae tunes from the samples DnB Producers would dig up! Surely someone got sued haha

Maggoty lawyers from Musical Sales International (MSI) ~ who bought Larrikin Music ~ went out of their way to acquire the copyright of 'Kookaburra' knowing full well that their motivation was to sue Men at Work for copyright infringement. Their original claim was for compensation dating all the way back to 1981 when the song 'Down Under' was first released, but sensibly the trial judge only back-dated MSI's claim for six years, not the additional 30 years since the song's first release. It was a sad indictment (but a predictable one) on the nature of money hungry maggoty lawyers.

I always assumed that Kookaburra was included as a nod to Australia. We leaned the song in grade school in Massachusetts in the 1970s.

I remember noticing the similarity, mentioning it too a few mates and forgetting all about it when the song first came out. I was stunned when the case developed the way it did. RIP Greg Ham.