Uh, this is disingenuous. Patents are limited to 20 years, and for a good reason.

(I would wish for much shorter copyrights, too, or at least for the need to register and pay them after X years.)

You are missing the point.

In the era there is no royalty system at all. The moment royalty was introduced, it was unfair, unequal, already with a clear economy and political agenda.