Copyright is a puzzling subject.  One that we’ve been over and over in the Web-based culture we live in.  In Chapter 4 of Remix, Lessig talks about his friend, who samples other writers and thinkers in his own writing.  It seems like these artists have an unquestionable claim to their works, but what about other artists?

Fashion designers are certainly artists and creators on par with any.  Vivienne Westwood, Michael Kors, the late Alexander McQueen… All have made distinct works; all have created things that others want to sample.  People argue that it’s different for clothing, because everyone has to wear clothes, so you can’t copyright sleeves or collars, as they’re necessary conventions for daily life.

Aren’t quotes necessary for writings?  Aren’t song samples necessary for Girltalk’s career?  Aren’t joke ripoffs necessary for the existence of sitcoms?  ”What norms (and then law) will govern this kind of creativity?” Lessig says of collage-making, sampling, remixing society.  Just as with any art, remixing depends on being well-done to be popular.  An artist who rips off others is not going to get anywhere if the remixer doesn’t manage to do something special with the material at hand.  That’s why Girl Talk is popular and respected (mostly), and everyone else with a soundcloud goes completely unnoticed.

If we allow a culture and a true art to develop around the remix, instead of undermining the creations of these creators, we could have some fascinating new things on our hands.  But as long as we insist that these people are just using previous works to avoid needing any real talent, we allow them to get by without real talent, and this deprives us of what could be a new art form.