Comment by lotsofpulp

Trademarks protect brands, not copyright and patents. That is a different discussion, but trademarks already work that way, where if the trademark owner keeps using the trademark, then they get to keep it. A creative work is not a brand, the name of the person or company that produced it is a brand.

> if your work stops producing value, squatting on it IS rent seeking

“Producing value” is far too nebulous of a parameter to legally enforce. Again, the point of a copyright and patent is to incentivize creation. At a certain point, it moves from incentivizing to rewarding those that sit on previous accomplishments.

That is why old movies, music, and games are locked away or only accessible via pirating, why TV shows from the 1990s and 2000s have different soundtracks if streamed legally today, and why patent trolls exist.