Did you hear Congress is trying to steal your fanart?  Then you've probably already read Mark Simon's article on the subject.  If you haven't heard yet, be glad.  The kerfuffle stems around Simon's contention that the so-called "Orphan Works Act" will chase you down the alley, beat you up, and steal your copyright.  The information he is reporting comes from the Illustrators' Partnership of America (IPA).  Simon conducted an interview with IPA's Brad Holland, who went into detail about the chilling effects of the new legislation.

The problem is that there's no legislation.  The "Orphan Works Act of 2006" idled in the Judiciary committee and died, and it is from this document that the uproar is coming.  Opponents claim that new legislation is pending, although no bill has yet been introduced to Congress.  Opponents also claim that artists who found their work infringed would not be reimbursed for legal time and trouble to prove their prior claim on the work, despite the 2006 bill's actual wording:

"If the infringer fails to negotiate in good faith with the owner of the infringed work regarding the amount of reasonable compensation for the use of the infringed work, the court may award full costs, including a reasonable attorney’s fee, against the infringer under section 505, subject to section 412."

The 2006 bill was designed so that works such as photographs and illustrations whose origins cannot be determined could de facto pass into the public domain.  Museums, schools and religious institutions were specificaly named as beneficiaries of the legislation.  More, there was wording to protect the copyright holder, should s/he discover the use of the work, including legislating fair payment for the use.  This bill is no longer being considered, although subsequent bills along the same lines will no doubt have similar wording.

Do you have to worry?  Not so much.  First, despite the angry flurry of protest sparked by Simon's article, there is no actual legislation pending.  Go check the Library of Congress.  Second, if/when a bill is submitted, it will likely die in committee as the subject has the last three times it's come up.  Third, artists will continue to have copyright of their own work and, exactly like things are now, will be the ones responsible for monitoring that copyright diligently.  Artists of all stripes may feel free to register their works with the United States Copyright Office, even now.

In short: tempest, meet teapot.

(Additional information by Kynn and Radio Free Meredith)

Edit to Add: Since the Internet is and always has been populated by people who don't click follow-up links to see later articles on the same topic, you can find more discussion on the bills here.  Since the Internet is also populated by people who don't check out the main pages of sites they visit before they start commenting, you should also visit our front page to discover that we are a fan-based news site.  When it comes to copyright law, we care about fanfiction and fanart and how the current laws have grey areas in which those of us engaging in transformative works can exist.  We're big fans of the public domain, and believe that Disney has ruined it for everyone.  If you're not drawing adult pictures of cartoon characters, we're probably not the website you want to read regarding federal law.  Just a public service announcement.