It has become clear that what is needed are less patents, not more patents. Some are suggesting total elimination of particular types of patents while others might be trying to extend their scope.

It has also become clear that everyone is a sufferer and a protester, even some large companies, not just small ones. Entire economies may be at stake.

A CEO which (at least in part) considers himself a partner of Microsoft has said the following in an InformationWeek interview:

...we don't believe in patents. We believe they are tools to stop innovation. Our position is patent law should be rewritten as it pertains to software.

Here is another new little piece:

Simple solution; burn down the patent office, rebuild it, adopt the doctrine that all software source code must be disclosed. If someone violates on of your patents, you get to violate on of theirs. Fair enough?

Earlier today we used video footage to illustrate the fact that the patent system had gone insane, with about 20,000 (potentially trivial) patents pertaining to wicking alone.

Novell has entered dangerous territories and it should reconsider its pact, or at least consider lobbying for the abolishment of software patents. It would then be perceived as a contributer rather than a nuisance to Free software developers. At the moment, we believe that it silently or resistantly sidles with the attacks on Linux, which serve it well.