[rue]

I think it'd be useful to separate the fundamental idea of copyright, and what it means in reality: I certainly believe that the author of an idea ought to be recognized for it (be it that there're surely other people involved in some manner); the question is only what it entitles one to.

In a non-capitalist society, recognition would be enough since needs are cared for otherwise, but here and now it's still necessary to allow the authors to profit from their ideas.

Still, given that most other people have to work continuously rather than benefit from past work for years to come, it might make sense to limit actual copyright of a work intended for sale to, say, 5 years (private works like personal photographs would retain theirs). Subsequent to this, the author's right to be recognized would naturally still remain, but the work itself would enter public domain.