See how this sounds:
Copyright granted on any original work for one non-renewable term of fifty years.
Period.
No exceptions.
Wouldn't that be fairer than the current system?
Copyright granted to registered works only. If you want to take advantage of copyright's incentive, the least you can do is register your work. Copyright lasts for 14 years, with two 14-year renewals allowed. This moves abandoned works into the public domain as they should be.
To accommodate the fast-paced Internet publishing and collaborative online works, all works given a 60-day assumption of registration if properly marked with date as intent to register ("© 12 March 2007" as opposed to "© 2007" for a registered work). The copyright office sets up a server and allows running accounts. All publications such as this need to do is submit newer works within 60-days (can easily be made automated) and pay a nominal registration fee as part of the running account.