Musician responsible for Down Under flute riff fears he may be forced to sell his home to pay legal costs and royalties

One of the most successful flautists in pop may have to sell his house. Greg Ham, the manwho helped Men at Work's Down Under to the top of the charts, fears this week's copyright ruling will force him literally out of house and home. According to an Australian judge, Men at Work must pay 5% of the song's royalties to the publishers of a classic children's song.

"At the end of the day, I'll end up selling my house," Ham explained to the Age newspaper. Thanks to his contentious flute riff, the Men at Work multi-instrumentalist currently receives a small percentage of the song's royalties; but not, he claims, for long. "We'll face massive legal costs ... I'll never see another cent out of [Down Under] again."

On Tuesday, 21 years after Down Under was recorded, judge Peter Jacobson ruled the distinctive flute part had been copied from the Girl Guides campfire tune Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree. They must now pay back royalties starting from 2002, when a statute of limitations begins.

Ham still denies that the campfire classic had any impact on his playing. "I was looking for something that sounded Australiana – that's what came out," he said. "It was never Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree ... no one detected [the resemblance] – I didn't detect it and I played the fucking thing."

"Music's always been about referring to what's already in our culture," he insisted. Not only has Kookaburra now milked one of the flautist's main cash cows, but Ham complained that it has taken over the legacy of Down Under. "It will be the way the song is remembered and I hate that," he said. "I'm terribly disappointed that it's the way I'm going to be remembered – for copying something."