GIRL TALK AND FAIR USE

When it comes to Girl Talk and copyright laws, the conversation gets cloudy and confusing. The mash up connoisseur is known for sampling small portions of big songs and layering them altogether into one huge remix. The samples he uses and the way he places them together transforms them into something that is original and unique. So we ask the following questions: Is he breaking copyright laws or is his work protected under the exceptions of fair use?

Girl Talk’s Greg Gillis argues that he has transformed the copyrighted materials enough for it to be protected under fair use. It seems as if his argument would fall under the third portion of the fair use criteria, which states the following: the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole. While Girl Talk is using pieces of copyrighted material, his argument of fair use is a strong one. When listening to his music, you do recognize samples from other songs, but his work is so unique that you get lost in the originality of it.

If Girl Talk had decided to go through and get the licenses of all the samples he used in his albums, it would take him endless hours to do so and cost him thousands and thousands of dollars. More than likely, he would not even be able to get through the entire process and ultimately would not be able to make his albums a reality.

To date, no one has sued Girl Talk for copyright infringement. His case for fair use is obviously working, and until otherwise contradicted, it seems he should continue to stand with his case.