As a person who values good design (and has spent what many would think way too much for a table lamp), I don't see this law as totally absurd: they are basically putting design and works of art (think paintings, pictures, novels) on the same level.

The real problem is that copyright law is flawed, and terms should be reduced, both for designs and for works of art.

In art the only thing that matters is the presentation so there's no societal need for me to copy your art because it serves no function.

But with something like a lamp (or chair) the presentation is also the function.

If you're the first person to put a switch on the lamp as opposed to the cable, simply because you're the first to source a good enough switch to survive in that form factor, do you deserve protection for that cost/benefit tradeoff? For a century?

And doesn't that penalize the switch maker? They do all the work and you're merely the first to slap it on your design so you claim exclusive right to use it, destroying their market for their product.