A judge has ruled the band lifted the catchy “Down Under” flute melody from a beloved Australian campfire song “Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree.” They owe years of royalties. And a vegemite sandwich.
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well, since you asked my opinion…
I think this was a big mistake on the judge’s part. I’ve never made a correlation between the two. and now that it’s mentioned, I can see the resemblance. Maybe it was a obvious nod to the australian tune, being a definitively australian anthem. But copyright infringement? It’s barely recognizable and it’s not even the main hook of the song.
I was going to write my own little bit in this but you said it all. Legal rights to songs weren’t that big back then, so i image a lot of artist did this, they just haven’t been called out for it….yet. Still, in lames terms, this is fucking stupid
You’re right — legal rights to songs weren’t very big back in the early 1980s.
wow. i hope the writer of “the ABC’s” isnt about to sue the writer for “twinkle twinkle little star”…
i agree with what everyone else said. and if this is worth a lawsuit, then FLO RIDA definitely deserves some jail time for ripping off dead or alive…
Shouldn’t be able to sue such a huge, hit song so long after it came out. That’s just negligent as hell.
It feels as though a statute of limitations should apply here, given that the “original” melody was written DECADES ago…
no actual SoL in the u.s., but copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years… so until 2058 in this case. i don’t know about australia, but i’d imagine that it’s fairly similar.
i agree with the sentiment that the flute part is pretty insignificant to the success of the song, though – i, for one, barely remember it. i would hope that this dead broad doesn’t get too much in compensation.