Donna Wentworth at Copyfight called it back in September:
Here’s a worst-case scenario: We have a House copyright bill (PDEA) and a Senate copyright bill (Induce). November rolls around, and ’tis the season for appropriations. Someone takes out the scissors and tape, and PDEA and Induce become PDEA+Induce. There’s an appropriations bill that looks a little lonely. Suppose we staple PDEA+Induce to the bottom? That way, it’ll be sure to sneak by — because you can’t hold back government.
Guess what? Senate May Ram Copyright Bill. Like clockwork.
Several lobbying camps from different industries and ideologies are joining forces to fight an overhaul of copyright law, which they say would radically shift in favor of Hollywood and the record companies and which Congress might try to push through during a lame-duck session that begins this week.
The Senate might vote on HR2391, the Intellectual Property Protection Act, a comprehensive bill that opponents charge could make many users of peer-to-peer networks, digital-music players and other products criminally liable for copyright infringement. The bill would also undo centuries of “fair use” — the principle that gives Americans the right to use small samples of the works of others without having to ask permission or pay.