The European Parliament yesterday overwhelmingly threw out the proposed so-called "software patent directive"

The European Parliament yesterday overwhelmingly threw out the proposed so-called "software patent directive", a move which could be good or bad news (depending on how you look at it) for any of you whose products involve software, whether it's machinery, control systems or whatever. Whilst it would seem to be a victory for anti-patent campaigners, it's also being claimed as a good thing by the pro-patent lobby, led by many large multinationals. This is mainly because the original bill had been watered-down by so many amendments that it was seen as no more than a "bad compromise".
That may well be true. But whilst it can be argued that this is not a victory for those who oppose patenting ideas rather than inventions, they've more reason to celebrate than the big corporations. And it's always heartwarming when expensive political lobbying and scaremongering fails to create oppressive legislation from which the main winners will be the legal profession.
Despite claims to the contrary by major corporations, it seems to me that they're the only ones who benefit from software patenting. Certainly those rejecting the concept put forward the most cogent arguments. According to TheRegister, campaigner Florian Muller says: "Next time around, let's honestly discuss the pros and cons of pure software patents, and then we can get a great directive that won't die a dishonourable death like this".
Of course, all this just means the situation is unresolved. Despite the questionable legal basis, the European Patent Office has already granted thousands of software patents, most of them almost ridiculously unenforceable (electronic shopping carts, paying by credit card over the net, JPEGs, MP3s, the list goes on). The patent system is no longer just a way of encouraging and protecting invention. It's now a massive industry which mainly deals with incremental "developments", rather than serious inventions, and is unaffordable to individuals (the average cost of a European patent is tens of thousands of Euros).
Sadly, I can't ever see it being overhauled. But at least for now, we haven't taken another step towards a US-style system with its "patent trolls", companies which don't make anything but just go around acquiring patented ideas and then setting their lawyers on unwitting transgressors.
Both sides of the divide:
http://www.patents4innovation.org
http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com