> our societies have decided to reward creative arts with copyright instead In the US, the constitutional purpose of copyright is not to reward creative arts,

> our societies have decided to reward creative arts with copyright instead In the US, the constitutional purpose of copyright is not to reward creative arts, but "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." The (ostensibly) limited monopoly of copyright is intended to provide an incentive for promoting progress of science and "useful" arts. But I think you're right - in practice US copyright law has expanded beyond its constitutional scope (and arguably beyond the authority granted to congress) into a reward system for (some) copyright holders.