Patent rights only last 20 years from filing. Copyright however, is much longer. Don't get your IP protections schemes all tied in a bunch!

The only problem we need to address is the cost of internet access. The flat-fee-all-you-can-gorge-yourself access model is the problem and has set up a classic tragedy of the commons type of problem. The solution is to charge per megabyte for download. Say 10 cents per mega byte. Instead of paying a fixed amount. Bye bye piracy, traffic shaping, heavy use problems. I think this is a far better solution then the draconion DRM that has been suggested which is impinging on fair use and ultimately will threaten privacy.