Research Paper · 2026 · Faculty Advisor: Professor Jake Linford
Investigating Copyright and Creative Practice: A Qualitative Study of DJ Mashup Culture
An empirical study of how DJ/producers understand borrowing, authorship, and copyright risk.
Drawing on twenty-one semi-structured interviews with domestic mashup, edit, and remix
producers, the paper compares creative practice with the assumptions underlying copyright
doctrine, including the Sixth Circuit’s bright-line sampling rule in
Bridgeport Music, Inc. v. Dimension Films.
The interviews reveal three recurring dimensions: borrowing norms organized around signature
sound and release status rather than legal permission; production choices shaped by automated
detection, with fifteen of twenty-one participants describing alterations meant to avoid it;
and a risk calculus that turns on platform, audience size, monetization, and experienced
enforcement more than formal copyright analysis.
In response, the paper proposes platform-based private ordering that preserves rightsholder
consent without creating a new compulsory license. Participating rightsholders could designate
recordings in advance as offering no remix license through the program, available subject to
attribution or tracking, or available under monetization or revenue-sharing terms, with
Content ID administering those choices after upload. Fair use and other doctrines would remain
available.
- Empirical legal research
- Sampling & de minimis
- Fair use
- Automated enforcement
- Private ordering
Full paper available on request.
Legal Research · 2026
Financing Creativity Through NFTs
When does an NFT presale that funds an unfinished album, film, or series become an investment
contract under federal securities law? Applying Howey and Forman, the
SEC’s settled Stoner Cats 2 order, and the SEC’s March 2026 interpretation
on digital collectibles, the paper distinguishes fans buying access to creative work from
offerings promoted as investments tied to the creator’s future efforts.
For offerings that are investment contracts, the SEC’s proposed Regulation Crypto Assets
could supply a lawful pathway, but it is not yet binding law and leaves creative financing
unresolved. Its eligibility rules do not clearly address NFTs bundled with rights to off-chain
works, its disclosures are oriented toward blockchain network development, and its startup
exemption is capped at $5 million, with substantially heavier obligations above that line.
The paper recommends that the SEC clarify eligibility for access-bearing NFTs and adapt existing
disclosure and reporting requirements to production risks such as milestones, key-person
dependence, and use of proceeds, while preserving the investor protections that apply to larger
offerings. It acknowledges that these changes would improve clarity without necessarily reducing
compliance costs.
- Securities regulation
- Investment contracts
- NFTs & digital assets
- Creative financing
Full paper available on request.
