> A Games of Thrones was first released in 1996 but had middling success. It was only after 2011 that the series exploded in popularity

Yes - the catalyst was the amazing (early on) TV series, and not the book.

> IP law was originally to protect artist and authors from the wealthy, but now it seems to have the opposite intent.

In the case of GoT, if the TV series had never happened then the popularity wouldn't have happened. The author's books got popularity based on other people's efforts.