"BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA -- Friday, October 2, 2009 -- The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today submitted an amicus curiae brief calling on the Supreme Court to affirm that software ideas are not patentable.

"End Software Patents (ESP) has filed an amicus curiae brief in the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's (CAFC) rehearing of the In re Bilski case. The rehearing could lead to the elimination of patents on software.

In IBM's brief for the Supreme Court's upcoming review of Bilski, they claim that allowing software patents "promotes collaboration among software developers (such as open source development)" Please help document the actual relationship on swpat.org

FSF has now filed an amicus brief in Bilski, and they too ask the Supreme Court "to affirm that software ideas are not patentable":End Software Patents (ESP) executive director Ciaran O'Riordan explained, "Every software patent is a restriction on software developers and users of computers, and there are currently 200,000 software patents in the USA.

The fight against software patents got a big boost yesterday when one Linux company filed an amicus brief with the US Supreme Court urging it to uphold last year's Bilski vs. Doll decision in the Federal appeals court.

"Today the Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC), provider of pro-bono legal services to non-profit developers and distributors of free software, filed a brief with the United States Supreme Court arguing that software standing alone cannot constitutionally be patented..."

"With the US Patent Office and courts cracking down on software patents, Ars takes a close look at the Supreme Court's software patent decisions. Yes, the highest court in the land really did say that algorithms can't be patented. And in spite of the fact that their rulings have been functionally ignored for almost two decades, the tide may be about to turn..."

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit short history 1982 to today and how the interpretation of patent law radically changed, leading to e.g. software patents. The pro-patent Federal Circuit has also "overruled" the Supreme Court.

Patent Absurdity explores the case of software patents and the history of judicial activism that led to their rise, and the harm being done to software developers and the wider economy. The film is based on a series of interviews conducted during the Supreme Court's review of in re Bilski — a case that could have profound implications for the patenting of software.