Some critics have argued that remix is not creative because artists are simply copying the work of others. Lawrence Lessig, a law professor who has made intellectual property central to his research, takes a different perspective. What are some of the arguments he constructs in favor of greater respect and tolerance for remix?

Remix often is described as plagiarism; in fact, it can be seen as the opposite of plagiarism. Plagiarists mask the sources of their material and take claim for them. Remixers depend on our recognition that the material is borrowed and our understanding of the specific contexts from which it is borrowed (suggesting a logic closer to allusions or inspiration than to plagiarism). For example, Kanye West’s video for his song about the ethics of the diamond trade, Diamonds from Sierra Leone, features a sample from Shirley Bassey’s song, Diamonds are Forever, the theme from a James Bond movie. This song would lose the power of meaning if we did not recognize its references to the earlier work. 

Even if we believe that remix constitutes a meaningful form of creative expression, we still must address core questions about the ethics and legality of contemporary practice: