Copyright in the current age: are we losing our cultural heritage?

For one reason or another, I recently had a few thoughts about copyright. I recall that I started thinking about it a few days ago, started writing this post, then left it for a bit to come back to. Its a subject I have followed in the news for some time (notably with the 'speculative invoicing' that has been in and out of the news sites multiple times in the last few years), and one I was interested in when it was covered in one of the modules I did for my Masters Degree.