Patents

Thinking about copyrights, and in general the rights to one's creation, got me wondering about patent laws. I was surprised when I looked it up to find that patents only last twenty years, and in the US you have to renew them after 3 1/2, 7 1/2, & 11 1/2 years. Apparently you can renew them again after 20 years, but each time you renew there is a fee. I had no idea patent laws were so short. This might make me change my views about copyright laws.

Who Killed the Electric Car? is also making me question my stance. The documentary interviews an old inventor who came up with a battery that would allow an electric car to drive 300 miles on one charge (making it a better choice than gas-fueled vehicles for just about everyone). GM bought the technology, making the inventor think they were going to put it in their new cars. Instead, they buried the technology so that no one could use it, and later sold it to a big oil company. I wonder if we have to wait 20 years before the technology is available again. I wouldn't be surprised if the patent laws started growing a'la Mickey Mouse's copyright if I understand the situation correctly.