Laugh, kookaburra, laugh in court payout

They’re famous around the world for their smash-hit pub anthems, but it seems justice has finally caught up with Australian rock band Men At Work.

Colin Hay and Ron Strykert have been ordered to pay five per cent of profits from iconic 1981 hit Down Under for ripping off the opening bars of an old Girl Guide song, Kookaburra sits in the Old Gum Tree in a flute riff.

Under a ruling handed down in the Federal Court in Sydney on Tuesday morning, the royalties owed to Kookaburra's owner Larrikin Music Publishing will be backdated to 2002, and the five per cent figure will also apply to all future payments.

But they’ve gotten away lightly, say Australian media.

While it's expected they will have to pay a six-figure sum, the company that sued the songwriters and record company EMI, Larrikin, had been seeking much more – between 40-60 per cent of the song's royalties, The Australian reported.

“I accept that Down Under is an affectionate celebration and a witty commentary on some of the icons of Australian popular culture,” Judge Peter Jacobson told the Federal Court in Sydney.

“But... there are numerous references to other icons throughout the song. A balanced view of the contribution that the two bars of Kookaburra make to the overall theme of the 1981 recording must be seen as quite low.”

Down Under, an unofficial Australian theme and jukebox staple worldwide, sold millions of copies across the globe and was also the theme tune for the victorious 1983 Australian team in yachting's America's Cup.

The song, which featured at the close of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, pays tribute to Vegemite sandwiches and a land where “beer does flow and men chunder (vomit)”.