RIP: A REMIX MANIFESTO is a documentary by Brett Gaylor which focuses on the remix culture and copyright issues involved in it. The main subject is a mash-up style artist, known as 'Girl Talk', who remixes and samples existing records of artists without asking permission or paying to use them, thus crossing the boundaries and raising questions regarding copyright.
One interesting thing I learnt from this film is regarding Walt Disney as a remix artist. He took existing stories, folklore and characters and even samples of other films to create the Disney films most of us grew up with. Even though there is very apparent similarities, he and the company were praised and no legal actions were taken. However, when Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters were used by other artists and given opposing traits as to the innocence they are known for, Disney sued these artists for infringing copyright laws.
Remix culture is a society that allows and encourages derivative works by combining or editing existing materials to produce a new product. A remix culture would be, by default, permissive efforts to improve upon, change, integrate, or otherwise remix the work of copyright holders.
source: wikipedia
Although the law of copyright is a big factor in the creative industry, there are many advocates of the remix culture and actively voice this out. In this TED TALK video, Kirby Ferguson proves how widespread and unavoidable remixing has been.
Remix Culture