Do patent and copyright law restrict competition and creativity excessively? Posner

I am concerned that both patent and copyright protection, though particularly the former, may be excessive.

via www.becker-posner-blog.com

I disagree with the author regarding fair use. The problem he posits is better addressed by the doctrine of de minimus use, or finding a lack of "substantial similarity."  Fair use is meant to address a very narrow class of cases where the copying is substantial, but there is a social benefit to allowing it anyway, such as an educational purpose. Fair use is getting far too much emphasis, primarily because it has been the argument of choice for those who oppose our current copyright law at the EFF and Stanford University.