Abstract

Video remixing has grown rapidly from a semiexpert act to a broadly participatory one infusing daily life. Its growth has been pervaded with a discourse of criminality, with practitioners who proudly call themselves pirates, showcases with names like “Illegal Art,” endless listserv discussions of often-bogus copyright lore, and meaningless but well-intentioned placatory messages on YouTube denying any intent to infringe. This has been accompanied by corporate alarmism around piracy, takedown notices online that do not distinguish between legal and illegal uses of unlicensed material, inappropriate cease-and-desist letters, overreaching terms of service, and sometimes-confusing and categorical warnings against copying. ¹