Gregg Gillis aka Girl Talk is best known for his wild live shows, super hot beats and, most controversially, that his music is entirely derived from other popular artists. Under current copyright law, Girl Talk’s blatant use of samples is considered stealing. Gregg considers it fair use and positive promotion for other artists. As debates over copyright are fueled by the ever growing remix, mashup and digital sampling culture we now live in, we have to ask ourselves- Is it ok to have so many restrictions, with the threat of legal action, on what is fair game for making art?

Check out Brett Gaylor’s Open Source Cinema project for tons more Girl Talk clips.