That person was also me, funnily enough!
since this is the copyright office it has no bearing on other types of established property such as license or patent law
Buddy, patents are public domain. That's the whole point of a patent.
the office admits they are waiting for public input (the legislative body) on the matter
No they don't - they've published their current rules and state that those rules are their interpretation and those rules will stand until and unless further rulings or legislation comes out to change the situation. You know, how laws work?