Legal Implications of Remix Culture

Remix culture is not a new phenomenon. For at least the past fifteen years artists have “sampled” other artists to create new works that they consider their own. In 1841, the legal case Folsom v. Marsh decided that the main concern of copyright infringement is “the degree in which the use may prejudice sale, or diminish profits… of the original work,” as stated in the article “Girl Talk, Interrupted” by Chris Bodenner. The same article states that the first major lawsuit and challenge to the 1841 ruling occurred when the publishing firm Acuff-Rose Music sued the rap group 2 Live Crew for “mimicking” the song “Oh, Pretty Woman” by Roy Orbison. The case Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music made it all the way to the supreme court, where it was ruled that 2 Live Crew did not break any copyright laws because their song is a commercial parody.

In 1991, rapper Biz Markie was successfully sued by singer-songwriter Gilbert O’Sullivan for sampling his song “Alone Again (Naturally).” This case had a large effect on the blossoming hip-hop industry as it illustrated that a genre largely based on sampling of work was not immune to the legal implications of the practices.