ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on remixing and its history of moving ideas. The widespread use of remixing in the arts has developed alongside cultural appropriation, sometimes also known as cultural misappropriation, which is the process of an individual from a powerful and dominant culture adopting elements from a culture systematically oppressed by the dominant culture. As artists, it is important to strive to avoid cultural appropriation and its power abuses. Of course, individual artists also rely on copyright to generate their income, which is a positive application of the law. Thus, the original goal of US copyright law, passed in 1790, was to ensure knowledge and culture were spread and promoted. The law struck a deal with creators by granting them the sole rights to their work for a short amount of time—14 years, which could be renewed for fourteen more if the creator was still alive. This short-term profit for creators was not the main purpose of US copyright law.
