‚Right to Remix‘: Initiative for a European Copyright Reform

The iniative right2remix.org calls for European lawmakers to adopt remix rights in European copyright legislation. On this portal, the German civil rights organisation Digitale Gesellschaft e. V., who launched the initiative, explains: „We live in an age of remix. Creativity and culture have always drawn from previous works, but with the Internet and digital technologies, the creative re-use of works has been taken to a whole new level. More people are able to edit and share a greater range of works than ever before.“

Markus Beckedahl, spokesperson of Digitale Gesellschaft e. V., demands legal changes to adapt to these technological and social developments: „The right to remix has become a fundamental requirement for freedom of expression and free speech in a digital society.“

Establishing a right to remix, however, requires some modifications of European and national copyright law. Digitale Gesellschaft e. V. proposes to introduce the right to remix as a combination of three creative rights:

• The right to change works during usage and to publish the results. (Transformative usage right(s) with lump-sum compensation, e.g. background music in mobile phone videos)
• The right to create and to publish remixes of existing works. (Remix right(s) with lump-sum compensation, e.g. fake trailer for a TV series)
• The right to commercialise remixes, in exchange for appropriate compensation. (Remix commercialization right(s) subject to compulsory licensing, e.g. selling music mash-ups on iTunes)

On right2remix.org, supporters are invited to sign a petition and to share a link to their favorite remix work. Leonhard Dobusch, assistant professor on organisation theory at Freie Universitaet Berlin and responsible for the initative, explains the rationale for collecting remix works: „We we want to contribute to making our rich remix culture more visible, and call for legislative recognition.“

The launch of the website right2remix.org is only the first of several parts of the initiative.“Currently we are also working on an online remix museum,“ Dobusch says, adding that each remix link will be counted as a nomination for a remix award. „After the failure of the Anti-Counterfeiting trade Agreement (ACTA), our initiative aims at re-launching the debate for a European copyright reform in a proactive and constructive manner.“

Further inquiry note: 

• E-mail, also for interview requests: presse@digitalegesellschaft.de
• Contact to spokesperson Markus Beckedahl:  +49 177 7503541
• Contact to copyright expert Leonhard Dobusch: +49 176 27497547
• Pictures and further information: right2remix.org
• Twitter: @right2remix // Facebook