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Current fair use law is hazy by design; instead of laying out specific use cases, the law relies on the famous "four factors" about the purpose of the use, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount borrowed, and the effect on the value of the original work. This can be maddening in many situations, because it is impossible to know in advance if a particular use qualifies. On the other hand, it gives a fair use incredible flexibility to adapt to new circumstances like the advent of the VCR. But in the paragraph that comes just before the four factors, Congress did see fit to lay down a nonexclusive list of fair uses: "criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research." Is it time for more list items? The new Copyright Reform Act, proposed by Public Knowledge, would make a deceptively simple change to bring fair use into the 21st century-add seven words to this list. The CRA is a new project from Public Knowledge, with much of the heavy lifting being done by the Cyberlaw Clinic at Stanford and the Technology & Public Policy Clinic at UC-Berkeley. While Berkeley's noted copyright scholar Pam Samuelson works up a new "model statute" for copyright law in the digital age, Public Knowledge hopes to make smaller interim fixes to copyright law that won't require the same dramatic reworking.

"Brian L. Roberts, the chairman and chief executive of Comcast, laid out 17 specific commitments that the company was willing to make to satisfy the concerns of the F.C.C., consumer groups and members of Congress, including a promise to expand the number of independent programmers it carries in each of the next three years. "

"Federal regulators trying to bring high-speed Internet connections to all Americans will propose tapping the government program that now subsidizes telephone service in poor and rural areas. The Federal Communications Commission will include a proposal to revamp the Universal Service Fund as part of a national broadband plan due to Congress on March 17. Although the proposal itself has been expected for months, Friday's announcement offered the first solid details."

"Nearly two weeks remain before the U.S. Federal Communications Commission is scheduled to deliver its national broadband plan to Congress. But analysts are already picking potential winners and losers based on key themes that have already been identified, such as mobile broadband networks and spectrum swaps. The plan's overarching goal is to give all Americans access to affordable, high-speed broadband Internet."

The FCC conducted a survey identifying several barriers to broadband access amongst those who are unwired, with prices being the biggest factor. The FCC will submit a national broadband plan to congress next month

For many Americans, having high-speed access to the Internet at home is as vital as electricity, heat and water. And yet about one-third of the population, 93 million people, have elected not to connect.

If they Comcast-NBC merger goes through, the conglomerate could gain serious clout in negotiations between local station owners and local cable systems for the right to retransmit broadcast tv signals.

Feb. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Comcast Corp.'s proposed takeover of NBC Universal would test the future of free, over-the-air television, U.S. Representative Henry Waxman said as Congress began considering the deal. "Many are concerned that this transaction could result in the best of NBC's programming being transitioned to a pay-TV service," Waxman, a California Democrat and chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said today.

More specific legal language on the Net-Neutrality court decision.