Copyright and Craziness

I've been listening to and reading all of these IP and Copyright law details and am realizing that, at least in the case of copyright, it seems to be too complicated to be useful. The many addendums to the law (sorry, my law vocabulary is relatively non-existant) seem to only close loopholes in favor to the copyright holders, rather than the creators.

I have been helping my brother in law to write a book, and we have often tried to figure out how we can use some non-fiction material as the basis of his novel. I can certainly see firsthand how the murkiness of this law is supressing creativity. The book is amazing, but is it worth publishing with the fear of infringing on copyright law? If the law confuses lawyers, how is it effective for creators? I am no expert (and apparently no one else is either), but this law no longer seems to serve its primary purpose.

I shall read on, and maybe someone can change my mind!