Last week Reuters had a story about an US Judge and his comments on software patents:
Posner said some industries, like pharmaceuticals, had a better claim to intellectual property protection because of the enormous investment it takes to create a successful drug.
Advances in software and other industries cost much less, he said, and the companies benefit tremendously from being first in the market with gadgets - a benefit they would still get if there were no software patents.
"It's not clear that we really need patents in most industries," he said.
Also, devices like smartphones have thousands of component features, and they all receive legal protection.
"You just have this proliferation of patents," Posner said. "It's a problem."
Again my questions to people out there who are in favour of software patents: Why do we need another monopoly right beside copyright for software? What advantage do patents have in software, so that we have to interfer with the market? Should we also patent literature? Those who want to introduce another monopoly right should show good reasons why our society should introduce it.