Intellectual Property

Occasio-Cortez Dancing Video And Remix Culture

Ultimately, any fighting over whether these mashups posted to YouTube infringes copyright is pointless.

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(Screenshot via YouTube)

The last several weeks have been bursting with IP-related news. From new published works entering the public domain in the U.S. for the first time in 20 years, to SCOTUS agreeing to hear a case involving bans on profane trademarks, to LexisNexis refusing to sell a copy of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated to Carl Malmud after he won a copyright battle in the Eleventh Circuit at the end of last year, to coverage on two upcoming copyright cases before SCOTUS.

But my favorite story, which admittedly has already been well-covered elsewhere, involves rising political star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (or AOC, as she’s being called), a deeply misguided attempt to discredit her by posting a college video, remix culture, fair use, and licensing. The video at issue is one unearthed by the far right of Ocasio-Cortez dancing in college, posted to discredit her; the initial post wanted to show “America’s favorite commie know-it-all acting like the clueless nitwit she is…” The attempt to discredit her backfired; as the Washington Post summed up in a headline, “A video of Coasio-Cortez dancing in college leaked to smear her. Instead, the Internet finds it adorable.”

But far from being just a story about how someone on the far right inexplicably thinks a video of a college student dancing on a rooftop is somehow scandalous (regardless of one’s feelings about Ocasio-Cortez or the media attention she’s been showered with, I still don’t understand what posting this video was intended to do), there’s a great copyright angle. I first took notice when Parker Higgins wrote a lengthy Twitter thread providing the history of the video (for which I am very grateful since I had no idea this Lisztomania mashup mania was a thing).

As Higgins notes, “A decade ago, somebody uploaded a video that mashed up an iconic dance scene from THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985) with a current popular hit, Pheonix’s Lisztomania.” Following that mashup, others joined in, creating new versions, which have been collected on this YouTube playlist of 72 Lisztomania Brat Pack Mashups in locations around the world. One of the many versions that proliferated at the time was one from Boston University, including Ocasio-Cortez.

Techdirt covers in detail some of the many copyright claims that followed involving individuals talking about the Lisztomania mashup craze (and including some clips) — such as Professor Larry Lessig’s lecture on remix culture and copyright enforcement — resulting in DMCA takedown notices and litigation.

While Lessig’s use of the clips in his lecture are undoubtedly fair use, there’s been some discussion over whether the Lisztomania mashups themselves are fair use. Of course, Techdirt points out what many artists have discovered from remix culture and social media — reuse and sharing can increase attention to the work and actually boost revenue. Phoenix released a statement following the initial controversy several years ago: “We encourage people getting inspired and making their own versions of our songs and videos and posting the result online. One of the great beauties of the digital era is to liberate spontaneous creativity…” And, ultimately, any fighting over whether these mashups posted to YouTube infringes copyright is pointless, as the song is licensed to YouTube.

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Krista L. Cox is a policy attorney who has spent her career working for non-profit organizations and associations. She has expertise in copyright, patent, and intellectual property enforcement law, as well as international trade. She currently works for a non-profit member association advocating for balanced copyright. You can reach her at kristay@gmail.com.

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