I disagree with your assertion that there has never been a "remix snippets" exception to copyright. The EFF posting mentions the principle of fair use, developed out of case law at least as old as 1740 [1] and now incorporated into modern statutes [2]. Do you dispute that fair use addresses a "remix snippets" exception to copyright?

[1] http://books.google.com/books?id=VNA48yhYnncC&pg=PA80... [2] http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#107