Boing Boing points out the upcoming public hearing on May 9 about the WIPO Broadcasting Treaty.
The Broadcast Treaty is a proposal to let broadcasters (and “webcasters” — people who host files and make them available to the Internet) claim a copyright to the stuff that they transmit. Broadcasters get this special right even if the stuff they’re sending around is in the public domain, or Creative Commons licensed, or not copyrightable (like CSPAN’s broadcasts of Congress). Fair use doesn’t apply to this right.
Seems ridiculous, right? Weigh in!