Patents last 20 years. So no.
>Patents last 20 years. So no.
That's a domestic choice that most countries had no say in, there is no global consensus on how long patents should last.
In the US, congress has the right to grant and extend patents for however long it wishes (and has done so many times in the past).
So yes, to my original point.
Yes there is. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIPS_Agreement
Also, you're confusing patents and copyrights. Patents have not been extended for very long lengths.
If it's not voluntary, I don't consider it global consensus.
Joseph Stiglitz makes a similar point...
"TRIPs imposed on the entire world the dominant intellectual property regime in the United States and Europe, as it is today. I believe that the way that intellectual property regime has evolved is not good for the United States and the EU; but even more, I believe it is not in the interest of the developing countries."
Patents granted to Asians, Africans, and indigenous Americans for prior-art would bankrupt Europe.
Remember, before the 15th century less than 5 people could do long division in Europe. Try solving middle/high school math equations without the number 0 and using only roman numerals, you will understand the problem very quickly. For this and many other reasons, most of the intellectual heavy lifting was done outside of Europe. It took 400 years or so to collect information and catch up to the rest of the world.