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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.

"We gather all the important stories about media and present them to you in a timely, thorough, and organized manner. Our story selection method uses the power of our freakishly smart algorithm combined with direct editorial input from knowledgeable human editors.We collect every relevant take on an issue and package them together in a comprehensive group of links. That way, you not only get the lead opinion on an issue, but you can easily see all the supporting, opposing, smart, controversial, notable, and previously unseen viewpoints."

The Walt Disney Company has been quietly shopping what remains of its Miramax film unit and has attracted seven to 10 interested bidders, according to a mergers and acquisitions expert with knowledge of the process.

The Walt Disney Company has been quietly shopping what remains of its Miramax film unit and has attracted seven to 10 interested bidders, according to a mergers and acquisitions expert with knowledge of the process.

2 large broadband providers are bringing out all the stops to fight open-Internet rules proposed by the FCC Chairman. It would unravel one of Genachowski's key initiatives.

Helium is simultaneously an online community for writers and a directory for user-generated articles. Writers can submit articles to 24 different channels (business, entertainment, travel, etc.), write for the side of a heated debate, try to capture publisher writing assignments bounties or win user-voted Helium writing contests. Users get to rate submitted articles so the best writing rises to the top.

The RIAA argues ISP's should perform copyright enforcement, and claim Net Neutrality blocks such efforts.

"Time Warner Inc. is considering a bid of $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. film studio, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions, as second-round offers come due tomorrow. Warner Bros. executives, including Chief Executive Officer Barry Meyer and Chief Operating Officer Alan Horn, will iron out a possible price tomorrow with Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes, said one of the people, who declined to be named because the talks are private. Time Warner may decide not to make an offer, the people said."