Well there was a tragic copyright case recently. On Spicks and Specks, they pointed out how an iconic Australian rock song contained a section that was lifted from Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum tree. So the owners of the copyright took Australian Crawl to court and won. Only then did it become known that the tune was stolen by Marion Sinclair from a welsh folk song. So now the question has to arise, how will Marion’s estate pay back all those illegally gathered royalties?
The Bushwackers Feeling sad for Colin Hay and Ron Strykert. Marion Sinclair copied an old Welsh folk song – “There You Are Sitting Blackbird” (not even an original subject!), and claimed an ‘original’ work. So, 30 years after Marion’s death and Down Under was an international hit, a bunch of publishers who had nothing to do with create…ing Kookaburra demand millions of dollars in ‘compensation’! Hope the judge sees sense. Dobe