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Dear CopyNighters:
I hope that you have had a great June. I am just returning from two excellent weeks in Boston but am enjoying being back here.
There is so much going on now in Congress and much of it has been renamed, reconfigured and expanded. But the principal thrust of the legislation will enable the content providers to extert more control over what consumers can do, and to eliminate or sharply constrict traditional fair use.
Here are some of the names of bills that contain "broadcast flags," "digital radio flags," and attempts to "patch" the "analog hole" and make our world more Orwellian:

"Communications, Consumer's Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act"
"Platform Equality and Remedies for Rights Holders in Music Act" (PERFORM ACT)
"Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement Act of 2006" (HR 5252) (COPE Act)
GOD HELP US! Must there be an acronym for every bad piece of legislation? The winner, the biggest and baddest and most clumsily worded, is now five years old: "Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism." (PATRIOT Act)
And then there's the Section 115 Reform Act (S1RA), and more I've left out, as well as the non-governmental copyright/IP concerns.
Other new questions and concerns:
should there be a copyright for fashion design?
why is France letting up on its Apple iTunes legislation?
is DRM spreading?
will the U. S. Copyright Office continue to nurture the RIAA and MPAA by keeping that Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8 phrase off its website?
should the U. S. Copyright Office raise the basic registration fee from $30 to $45? That can be answered easily. Yes, it will take place on July 1. Other fees will be raised as well. Get registering now!
I look forward to seeing you tomorrow (Wednesday, June 28, 2006) at 7:00 PM at Tabouli's, 2015 Belmont Blvd.
Any questions, call/write.
E. Michael Harrington
615-791-7455
emh666@aol.com