Is Doing the Mashup, a Copyright Monster?

In Judy O'Connell's blog she writes: "It is vital that we teachers and teacher librarians take a lead role in showing students how to work effectively, legally and ethically to use materials in new mashups which allow for remix of original materials in creative and compelling ways to create wonderfully original works."

As new technology evolves, so does the amount of jargon and buzz words, and it is often confusing to keep track of it all. A "video mashup" is described on Wikipedia as "a video that is edited from more than one source to appear as one". The ABC program "Q&A" invites viewers to compile mashup satires, and picks a winner whose mashup will appear at the end of the show. One of their popular ones was Spin Cycle.

In JoAnn Gonzalez Major's blog, "Mash-up videos are being used in education to comment on popular culture, products, and current events. Mash-up video mixes original images or sounds with music, quick-witted narrations or creative transitions. The result is a video dialog of sorts that makes a statement that addresses the central question presented in an assignment. Fueled by digital cameras and recorders, and easy to use film and image editing software, it is easy for students to create what are in effect multimedia compositions."

Mashup Examples used in education
The Open Thinking blog by Dr. Alec Couros has an excellent compilation of videos on media literacy and technology. It includes mashups and copyright.
Mashup awards - education category
Student competition at the University of Pennsylvania.

Remix Example:
In Judy O'Connell's blog, she points out the Folger Shakespeare Library's resources for enabling students to produce audio plays from Shakespeare’s work. These have been collated into a set of free, online resources titled: “Remixing Shakespeare.”
RiP: A remix manifesto is a documentary film about copyright and remix culture. Web activist and filmmaker Brett Gaylor explores issues of copyright in the information age, mashing up the media landscape of the 20th century and shattering the wall between users and producers. It is currently screening around Australia, and will broadcast on SBS (see their website for details).

What are the copyright implications of creating mashups?
Whenever you are using someone else’s work, you need to consider copyright. For teaching staff, the Screenrights licence lets you record short extracts from television and radio, and create a compilation, if this is done for the educational purposes of the school. Students can also make a fair dealing with a work for the purposes of study, or criticism or review. This could allow the use of short extracts in a mash-up, provided the use is fair and for one of these purposes. If the mash-up was exhibited or entered in a competition, it may be that the fair dealing provisions wouldn’t apply.

Both students and teachers also need to be aware that there are moral rights provisions in the Copyright Act, which may require you to attribute the authors of each of the works used, and which may also prevent you from using the work in a way that is damaging to its integrity (for example, by changing its meaning). It is always sensible to seek advice. The Australian Copyright Council publishes a number of excellent fact sheets and training and can provide specific advice if necessary.

If you want to explore the legal debate further, there is a journal article by O'Brien, Damien S. and Fitzgerald, Brian F. (2006) Mashups, remixes and copyright law, Internet Law Bulletin, 9(2). pp. 17-19. And ABC's Catapult has an article on Remix culture: a rights nightmare.

Links to related information:
Dr. Mashup; or, Why Educators Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Lov...
Mashups, Remixes, and Video Culture: Engaging the YouTube Generation..
The University of Pennsylvania provides these Steps to making a video mashup

Further Discussion
Does your class have any mashups you'd like to share with the Community? Please upload them on the video section and share your experiences with making them.