Yes, you're right :) . I was thinking of a drastically shorter timeframe in case of non-enforced patents, and maybe to be determined by a judge or jury. Say a few years at most, or maybe varying according to the field (doesn't make the same sense for tech advancements to be accorded the same length of protection than medical ones, say.).

Still, much wiser heads have written lots about this :)

I don't think the law can differentiate between medical/technical/etc patents to that fine a degree.