They sang about all things antipodean - Vegemite, beer and a "fried-out" Kombi van - but a Federal Court judge has ruled Men at Work breached copyright when they ripped off a popular Australian folk tune to create their smash 1980s hit Down Under.
The theft may cost them millions of dollars in unpaid royalties.
Federal Court Justice Peter Jacobson handed down his judgment in Sydney on Thursday and said the famous flute riff from the Aussie band's hit record was unmistakably the same as the children's tune Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree.
The original melody was penned more than 75 years ago by Toorak teacher Marion Sinclair for a Girl Guides competition.
In the end, it was Men at Work singer/songwriter Colin Hay's own admission that he sang Kookaburra while performing Down Under from 2002 that helped the judge come to his decision, Justice Jacobson said.
"In my opinion, there is a sufficient degree of objective similarity between the bars of Kookaburra which are seen and heard in Down Under to amount to a reproduction of a part of Miss Sinclair's round," Justice Jacobson wrote in his decision on Thursday.
"Perhaps the clearest illustration of the objective similarity is to be found in Mr Hay's frank admission of a causal connection between the two melodies and the fact that he sang the relevant bars of Kookaburra when performing Down Under at a number of concerts over a period of time from about 2002.
"Mr Hay's performance of the words of Kookaburra shows that a substantial part was taken."
The judge said a Qantas advertisement, which used a small, similar section of the riff, was not in breach of copyright laws.
Mr Hay's Kookaburra rendition will cost him dearly.
Kookaburra's copyright owners Larrikin Music are now set to get their hands on millions of dollars in unpaid royalties from music company EMI and Down Under songwriters Mr Hay and Ron Strykert.
Larrikin Music's lawyer Adam Simpson says EMI and Down Under may be forced to hand over as much as 60 per cent of their earnings from the international hit record.
"It's a big win for the underdog," Mr Simpson told reporters outside the court.
When asked how much Larrikin would be looking for, he replied: "Obviously, the more the better, but it depends - anything from what we've claimed, which is between 40 and 60 (per cent of earnings), and what they've suggested which is considerably less."
The Business As Usual album, on which the song appears, achieved huge commercial success in Australia and overseas.
It reached number one on the album charts in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 1980s, with sales in the millions, the court was told.
The judge found that Larrikin was entitled to recover damages but said just because he found in its favour did not mean he believed he thought the flute riff comprised a "substantial part" of Down Under.
EMI and the songwriters have said that Larrikin's bid "grossly over-reaches" a proper allocation of entitlements.
The parties will meet again on February 25 to discuss the findings and begin discussions about costs.
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