2. Rip: A Remix Manifesto is a documentary created by Brett Gaylor talking about such
things as copyright, intellectual properties, and the whole idea of file sharing/ trademarks. The
whole idea of this documentary is to talk and show how the world of copyright and trademarks
has changed throughout the past few decades. As of today, one of the main concerns of today
within the music and film industry is copyright law and how it affects not only the original
author’s work but also the person who created the secondary piece made. The term copyright is
presented as the right to copy but has come to mean that body of exclusive rights granted by the
law to copyright owners for protection of their work. Such things that can be considered under
the possession of copyright are names, titles, short phrases, slogans, symbols, letterings, and the
listing of certain content or ingredients.
Throughout the film, there were different storylines created to present to the audience to
give a clear view of different perspectives in the field. Out of all the storylines, the one that stood
out the most to me was, “Is our future winding up less free?” As of right now, the federal law of
copyright has been changing right before our eyes whether we like it or not. Concluding on with
today’s time one thing I have noticed is that directors and or publishers are constantly trying to
revamp a certain film filmed previously many years back to change it into something new as of
today’s time.
The word mashup is a piece of music created by digitally overlaying an instrumental track
with a vocal track from a different recording. An article called “Mashups and sampling: what’s
fair use?”, discusses what a mashup is and if it is upon a fair use within the music industry.
Legally it states that when going to court no opinions are giving any type of guideline on what
happens during a mashup and there is not a legal guideline to find out if the piece is protected or
not. Within the music industry specifically, there is a variety of different artists such as EDM
3. artists that like to do mashups of other songs and try to turn them into their own at the end of the
day to perform at festivals for others. When it comes to mashups if the artist is smart when trying
to mix the recordings it can technology not be considered copyright. Some artists try to change
the tempo or sound of the artist or groups who are singing to give it more of a depth where it can
be mixed to be changed into something new and not what it was previously.
There is a difference between mashups, sampling, and remixes. Sampling is to recover or
repurpose a sound recording in another recording while a remix is a piece of media that is
changed from its original state by adding, removing, or changing the original piece. According to
the CC License also known as Creative Commons license, songs can be used to recreate
something but there are terms when wanting to change it. Under the license remixing and
sampling the different amounts to be able to recreate the original song is not legal under the CC
NoDerivs license. One of the main things that some artists or groups forget when doing this is
giving the original owner the credit because it was their song first.
When it comes to terms regarding copyright law, I am on the fence about how it works.
There are some things I agree with while there are also things that I do not agree with either.
Regarding the law, the only thing I wish for was there were more restrictions when it comes to
copyright because as of today there are still many legal cases within the music industry just
based on original pieces that are being copyrighted. One thing I do believe is that any owner who
wrote or published a piece of work deserves the credit if it is being reused and changed into
something else. No matter what it should be protected without any type of conflict to it.
Companies worldwide have more leeway when it comes to working with copyrighted pieces
because they have a legal time that is well astounding and ready for situations like this to come
4. by through. Such companies can be considered as Warner Music Group, Universal, Disney,
Sony, and many more.
When watching and listening to this film I tried my best to come in with an open mind to
see if I could maybe learn something new. With the different perspectives and views, I have seen
when countering the documentary, I now look at copyright with more of an open eye including
by seeing how it has changed throughout the years. The creator of this whole film, Brett Gaylor,
shared such raw moments by the takes he has captured which can give everyone who watches
this an outlook on how it truly is. The whole world itself is truly a remix.
5. Work Cited
U.S. Copyright Office. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2022, from
https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/definitions.html#:~:text=%22Copyright%22%20literal
ly%20means%20the%20right,title%2C%20principle%2C%20or%20discovery.
Copyright for filmmakers. CopyrightUser. (2020, April 25). Retrieved February 18, 2022, from
https://www.copyrightuser.org/create/creators-discuss/filmmaker/
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Mash-up definition & meaning. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved February
18, 2022, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mash-up
Mashups and sampling: What's fair use? Rocket Lawyer. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2022,
from https://www.rocketlawyer.com/business-and-contracts/intellectual-
property/copyrights/legal-guide/mashups-and-sampling-whats-fair-
use#:~:text=There%20are%20currently%20no%20court,into%20question%20at%20any%
20time.
Legal Music for remixing and sampling. Creative Commons. (2016, May 31). Retrieved
February 18, 2022, from https://creativecommons.org/about/program-areas/arts-
culture/arts-culture-resources/legalmusicforremixing/
