Record Label Bosses Appeal Men At Work Ruling

Bosses at Larrikin music publishers in Sydney filed suit, claiming the flute solo on the track sampled parts of Kookaburra Sits In The Old Gum Tree, a song written by an Australian music teacher for the Girl Guides in 1934.

Bosses at EMI and Sony BMG denied the claim but a Federal Court in Sydney ruled against them - ordering the companies to pay compensation, which could amount to up to 60 per cent of the song's income.

Now record chiefs are attempting to have the ruling overturned - they filed an appeal at the Federal Court in Sydney on Thursday (25Feb10).

EMI bosses claim the trial judge failed to sufficiently acknowledge that the alleged similarities between the two songs had gone unnoticed for many years, and alleged the copyright had not been properly assigned to the Girl Guides Association of Victoria in 1934.

A court date has yet to be fixed for the appeal to be heard.