Is fair use ACTUALLY fair??

The answer to that question is quite simply, NO.  Copyright laws are hurting the human need for creating works of art that stimulate one’s imagination.  I was reading the comic book that Jennifer Jenkins and her colleagues wrote about intellectual property and I just don’t think it’s right or fair for someone to sabotage a perfectly good scene of a documentary and request money because a 4 ½ second clip of “The Simpsons” happened to be on the television where they were filming the scene.  I think I can semi-understand if the director intentionally showed a clip of the show for the scene, but that’s not what happened.  So, instead of being able to freely create and imagine new things and new viewpoints, Americans are forced to cut scenes because of unintentional slip-ups.  In my opinion, that is just ludicrous!  Do Americans need to stop and think about everything they do or say to prevent possibly being hit up for money?  Do you think it’s fair that for saying phrases like “Everybody Dance Now” in a scene could wind up costing you $5,000 dollars?  Okay, I understand that’s a song but come on…that is such a basic statement that I think it should be considered fair use! Right?!?!? The actor did not break out in a dance or sing the lyrics to the song at the top of his lungs.  He simply stated a phrase that wound up costing a lot of money to keep the scene in the documentary (which they ultimately decided to cut because of cost issues).  

I think the worst part about this whole copyright law situation is the time period allowed to keep a copyright.  You get 70 years after your death and I think that’s too long.  I’m pretty sure everyone in the world knows the “Happy Birthday” song and somehow that is still copyrighted. So, someone out there is making money every time that song is referenced or used in any capacity. Umm, who else thinks that is ridiculous besides me? Do you feel like it’s only a matter of time before people stop making films or creating TV shows because they are afraid of being sued for copyright infringement? I definitely feel that way but I’d love to hear what your take is on the situation. Do you think the fair use act we have today is actually fair? If your answer is no, what do you think needs to change in order to make things fair?