BLZFAN4LIFE Posted February 4, 2010 Posted February 4, 2010 Story The Federal Court in Sydney, Australia ruled Tuesday (Feb. 3) that Men At Work plagiarized the flute riff in their biggest hit, "Down Under," from popular campfire song "Kookaburra Sits In The Old Gum Tree." I certainly don't think a flute riff that may sound similar to a 76 year old song qualifies as plagiarism.
DC Tom Posted February 4, 2010 Posted February 4, 2010 Story I certainly don't think a flute riff that may sound similar to a 76 year old song qualifies as plagiarism. Why would anyone bother to maintain the copyright on "Kookabura Sits In The Old Gum Tree" to begin with?
KD in CA Posted February 4, 2010 Posted February 4, 2010 Story I certainly don't think a flute riff that may sound similar to a 76 year old song qualifies as plagiarism. Not to mention they don't sound anything alike. Ridiculous.
ExiledInIllinois Posted February 4, 2010 Posted February 4, 2010 Story I certainly don't think a flute riff that may sound similar to a 76 year old song qualifies as plagiarism. Isn't a campfire song public domain? Wow... Don't mess with the Girl Scouts!! They have quite a racket. I didn't know British law had a longer expiration: "...British government works are restricted by either Crown copyright or Parliamentary copyright. Published Crown copyright works become public domain at the end of the year 50 years after they were published, unless the author of the work held copyright and assigned it to the Crown. In that case, the copyright term is the usual life of author plus 70 years. Unpublished Crown copyright documents become public domain at the end of the year 125 years after they were first created..." The song came out in 1981... So that was not even 50 years since the original was made.
BLZFAN4LIFE Posted February 4, 2010 Author Posted February 4, 2010 Why would anyone bother to maintain the copyright on "Kookabura Sits In The Old Gum Tree" to begin with? Right, I would assume that a 76 year old campfire song would be public domain.
BLZFAN4LIFE Posted February 4, 2010 Author Posted February 4, 2010 Isn't a campfire song public domain? Wow... Don't mess with the Girl Scouts!! They have quite a racket. I didn't know British law had a longer expiration: "...British government works are restricted by either Crown copyright or Parliamentary copyright. Published Crown copyright works become public domain at the end of the year 50 years after they were published, unless the author of the work held copyright and assigned it to the Crown. In that case, the copyright term is the usual life of author plus 70 years. Unpublished Crown copyright documents become public domain at the end of the year 125 years after they were first created..." The song came out in 1981... So that was not even 50 years since the original was made. ... and what took them so long to sue?
ExiledInIllinois Posted February 4, 2010 Posted February 4, 2010 Why would anyone bother to maintain the copyright on "Kookabura Sits In The Old Gum Tree" to begin with? Because the Girls Guides (Scouts) are shrewd businesspersons! Hey you can't deny that... "Hey Elizabeth, don't look honey... I am hooked on Thin Mints and Tagalongs!"
Astrojanitor Posted February 4, 2010 Posted February 4, 2010 the litigious nature of the girl scouts is precisely why we've been robbed of so many flute riffs in rock and roll. bastards. little 12 year old girl bastards
ExiledInIllinois Posted February 4, 2010 Posted February 4, 2010 ... and what took them so long to sue? Money in the bank... Just waiting for the Great Recession to hit... Too busy selling cookies during the good times. You know Girl Scout cookies were first sold during the Great Depression.
ExiledInIllinois Posted February 4, 2010 Posted February 4, 2010 the litigious nature of the girl scouts is precisely why we've been robbed of so many flute riffs in rock and roll. bastards. little 12 year old girl bastards
erynthered Posted February 4, 2010 Posted February 4, 2010 XTC version is much better than Men at Works version.
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted February 4, 2010 Posted February 4, 2010 XTC version is much better than Men at Works version. bzzt.. thanks for playing. tell him what he's won, johnny!
ExiledInIllinois Posted February 4, 2010 Posted February 4, 2010 I take the suit is brought up because Colin Hay's accoutic version does get some play time. That version is relatively new... I am would think that he should have left sleeping dogs lay... ORIG Version Strange he did take the flute out (it is accoustic like duh!)... Did he know what was being dealt on him: Can of ass whoopin' from the Girl Guides.
Chef Jim Posted February 4, 2010 Posted February 4, 2010 Gee all these threads and posts lately confirming my opinion that 80's music for the most part sucked. My wife says it was fun. Sure because we were drunk and/or coked out of our minds for the majority of the decade.
Astrojanitor Posted February 4, 2010 Posted February 4, 2010 Gee all these threads and posts lately confirming my opinion that 80's music for the most part sucked. My wife says it was fun. Sure because we were drunk and/or coked out of our minds for the majority of the decade. The stuff that floated to the top was pretty annoying. Any "hey, remember the 80s" countdown you run across tends to be filled with this obnoxious bouncy over processed noise. But it was also the last time there was a serious underground. It's weird, the stuff I hate the most was from the 80s but so is the stuff I love the most. any decade that gave us the Jacobites, Black Flag, Minutemen, Dinosaur Jr, Replacements and Slayer can't be all bad. any decade that gave us Haircut 100, Johnny hates Jazz, Flock of Seagulls and Poison can't be all good either
DC Tom Posted February 4, 2010 Posted February 4, 2010 The stuff that floated to the top was pretty annoying. Any "hey, remember the 80s" countdown you run across tends to be filled with this obnoxious bouncy over processed noise. But it was also the last time there was a serious underground. It's weird, the stuff I hate the most was from the 80s but so is the stuff I love the most. any decade that gave us the Jacobites, Black Flag, Minutemen, Dinosaur Jr, Replacements and Slayer can't be all bad. any decade that gave us Haircut 100, Johnny hates Jazz, Flock of Seagulls and Poison can't be all good either The musical swamp that was the '80s can best be described in one sentence: Because " " topped the charts for preciesly one week, Toni Basil is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Pete Posted February 4, 2010 Posted February 4, 2010 Not to mention they don't sound anything alike. Ridiculous. +1
DC Tom Posted February 4, 2010 Posted February 4, 2010 Not to mention they don't sound anything alike. Ridiculous. Good God. They call THAT a copyright violation? Joe Satriani must be !@#$ing livid right now...
Steely Dan Posted February 4, 2010 Posted February 4, 2010 I don't hear a single similarity. Even if the brief lyric melody is the same I don't understand why that's a rip off. Why has it taken 25 years to file suit? Well, even "Happy Birthday" is copyrighted.
Just Jack Posted February 4, 2010 Posted February 4, 2010 The musical swamp that was the '80s can best be described in one sentence: Because " " topped the charts for preciesly one week, Toni Basil is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Thanks alot. I didn't even have to click on the link to have the tune running through my head now. Hey Mickey, you're so fine....
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