Men Out of Work

A one-hit-wonder band from the 1980s is about to have their one-hit stripped away from them.

Men At Work, an Australian band who made it big with their hit song Down Under, are being accused of plagiarizing the song's main melody.

The BBC reports that Larrikin Music is suing Sony BMG and EMI for breach of copyright. Larrikin claims that the distinctive flute riff from the 1981 track is actually lifted from a popular 1934 song called Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree, written by Marion Sinclair for the Girl Guides.

The music publisher initiated the lawsuit back in 2007 after an Australian music game show pointed out the similarities between the two songs. Sony and EMI deny that Men At Work copied the riff.

At the heart of the dispute is the question of who owns the rights to that original song from 1934. According to the BBC, Larrikin claims to have purchased the rights to the song in 1990. However, representatives for Sony and EMI argue that the original song still belongs to the Girls Guides movements, not Larrikin.

If Larrikin wins, Men At Work will lose substantial royalty money and Australia may lose its de facto national anthem.