Australian Govt Taken To Court Over ‘I Am Australian’ Song

Founding member of The Seekers Bruce Woodley will today get his day in court over a two-year dispute with the Australian Commonwealth Government regarding the use of the iconic I Am Australian track.

Between 2008 and 2012 the government issued a DVD to the 565 councils around Australia featuring the track – written by Woodley and The Bushwackers’ Dobe Newton in 1987 – to be used at citizenship ceremonies. Woodley, represented by GI & Sanicki Lawyers, did not give permission and was unaware of its usage, which ended in 2012 after a complaint was made.

Under section 183 of the current copyright act, the government have the right to use any piece of copyright work as long as it is of service to the commonwealth, subject to fair remuneration. Despite negotiations throughout the past two years, up to as recently as yesterday, an agreement on an appropriate license fee has not been agreed upon and the matter will go before Melbourne’s copyright tribunal today in day one of a two-day trial.

Darren Sanicki, Managing Partner of GI & Sanicki, told theMusic.com.au this morning that they’re not seeking a specific fee but expected that the remuneration could be substantial.

“We’re talking about four years, and we’re talking about 565 local councils. So, it could get into the hundreds [of thousands],” he said.

“We’re talking about four years, and we’re talking about 565 local councils. So, it could get into the hundreds [of thousands]."

“There’s obviously been lots of uses of this song before in other famous works that attract a particular fee, but this is really to determine what the appropriate license fee should be. We’re not seeking a particular sum as much, but obviously we want it to be as much as possible.”

One of the key aspects of the dispute is just how many times the track on the DVD was used.

“That’s part of what our evidence is going to be before the tribunal today,” Sanicki said. “No one’s really going to know how many times it was played at each council, but some of them hold quite regular citizenship ceremonies.”

Currently Sydney City Council has five citizenship ceremonies planned for the next four months, while City Of Melbourne had slated six across 2014.

The hearing will run for two days the timeframe for a decision is unknown and a judgement may not be available for a few weeks.

I Am Australian is one of the country’s best known songs and is regularly heard at Australia Day and sporting celebrations, as well as being taught in schools.