Grey Tuesday--the grand protest. Thousands of Internet users join in solidarity against outdated and misapplied copyright laws. While original content creators should be fairly compensated for their work, those who use portions of others' work to create their own unique works should be able to do so without fear or reprisals.
In conducting what some call copyright infringement on a massive, coordinated scale, the participants of Grey Tuesday sent a message. Protests are not always explicitly legal, nor are the messages they send. Regardless of legality, messages sometimes must be sent. When is it right to send such a message? Well, when it's the right thing to do.
This protest set the tone for other remix artists, collection curators, and all those who would gain inspiration from the work of those before them. Morally and socially, creating such inspired or derived work became okay, with artists, politicians, and record labels alike hearing loud and clear that the masses will support what's right. Upset a few people? Nobody's wallet suffers. Upset enough people to create a worldwide piracy event? Reschedule those board meetings!
As for property, the Grey Album creates somewhat of a grey area. On one side, the original creators of the content own their creations (or their label does), and they expect fair compensation in accordance with copyright laws. Those who create mixes, on the other hand, also expect fair compensation for their work. If they have created something new by using something old, at what point is it no longer theirs? Using part of a drum solo from an existing song, or a few seconds in the background might not be enough to get a lawyer's attention. However, doing nothing but cutting pieces of two whole works together may not always result in new intellectual property.
If I take select chapters from two books, put them together, and try to publish that as my own work, I'd be sued. What then, protected the creators of the Grey Album?
A grey area, eh? :)
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