i like mixin

The issue of FAIR USE is one with many sides; a complex legal matter that must be taken into consideration when sampling, remixing, or mashing on ilikemixin.com.  Before discussion of what does abide by the rules of fair use, it would be wise to note what does NOT; pirating whole movies, albums, etc. and transmitting them to other users is ILLEGAL – those examples are rather clear-cut because common sense should tell us that stealing/reproducing/copying any intellectual property is completely out of bounds and cause for copyright infringement, lawsuits, and a mess of things you can avoid by playing by the rules…but what are the rules you ask!?  With our program, the ilikemixin team has finally made it possible to sample any one of your favorite artists…but there’s a catch; you must only use that work to the degree necessary to make your own point about the original work.  Now, unfortunately, by virtue of the digitally-high-powered world we live in today, the ease by which users can download and share and communicate in various ways on the internet, does not necessarily mean that these uses are “fair”.  What types are fair?  Usually, sampling for non-commercial purposes is usually found, by the courts, to be fair – the difference between usually fair and always fair pertains to the degree and originality of the made work.  Although these kinds of uses would most likely be exclusively fair, it only permits the use of these works in limited circumstances; with the issuance of the Copyright Act, we now have a “four-factor” test in determining whether a use if fair or not.  There four factors are as follows:

1.     must include purpose and character in new use.

2.     must preserve nature of original work

3.     must include amount taken from original work

4.     must include importance of what is taken and the effect of the use on the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work

[Bits Debate: Mixing it up over Remixes and Fair Use; Saul Hansell]

            With this outline, the courts delegate mostly on a case-by-case basis; lawful precedents, as discussed in greater detail by the ilikemixin legal team, have amassed be the primary addressER of the fair-use issue.  Court decisions have been all over the place in the past few decades in deliberating about whether secondary authorship is fair or not.  We here at ilikemixin simply love to MIX, but we do it the right way; rather than just reproduce our sound bytes, we work to add value to the original, complement NOT substitute. 

            As this appears, this debate over what is fair and what is not seems very subjective so it is up to YOU, the user, to be aware of these guidelines and be respectful of not simply the judicial system, but the artists who spend there hard-working hours coming up with the jams we dance to, sing to, even MASH-UP!!