Black Wednesday

Yesterday was a hard day for copyright liberalization activists who have been lobbying on behalf of citizens' and consumers' digital rights. According to Ars Technica, the Pro-IP Act, which is short for the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2007," "sailed through the Judiciary Committee." Several legislators with strong ties to Southern California donors co-sponsored the bill. The full text is here. Note that the words "fair use" appear nowhere in the bill's language.

On the same day, the College Opportunity and Affordability Act was also approved by the Senate, which included an entertainment industry-backed provision requiring colleges receiving federal aid to screen and restrict file-sharing, which will be likely signed by President Bush very soon. See possible problems with this clause here.