Understanding Fair Use: is skipping commercials piracy?

Lee Gomes column got me thinking that skipping commercials like time shifting cheers can't possibly be piracy under the Copyright Act (as it was intended).

Fair use can be derived directly from the copyright clause notwithstanding section 107 fair use. In the course of copyright legislation and through a drafting error that occurred at the time of the 1909 act fair use was now being applied to consumers where previously it had only applied to a competitor’s use or piracy:

“‘As originally promulgated, the fair use doctrine was a fair "competitive" use doctrine designed to enable a rival author or publisher to use a copyrighted work in preparing another publication.’ Therefore, the doctrine applied only to competitors, not consumers.”

Therefore an individual user should not be liable for copyright infringement unless their actions rise to the level of piracy. Allow Professor Patterson to explain: "The competitor uses the copyright; the consumer uses the work. The copyright owner, by reason of the Copyright Act and the copyright clause, has not only no right to interfere, but a duty not to interfere with the consumer's use of a publicly disseminated work."

Update: TPH carries this thread here. Ev, can we get some trackback? TPH, what's the meaning behind Math Class for Poets? See Comments.