I don't believe this issue has gotten much press on the Amiga boards, but IMHO it's crucial that software patents not become the norm in Europe. Here in the US, smaller platforms like the Amiga have had to deal with issues like Unisys' LZW patent (the reason why gif functionality is so scarce), and years ago, RSA's RC4 patent, which made many secure web sites (legally) inaccessible. Overall, Europe has ben spared this trouble, until now. The US-based Business Software Alliance (representing big software companies like Microsoft), among other lobby groups, is pushing to now make software patents the norm.
No matter where you live, consider visiting
http://swpat.ffii.org/group/todo/index.en.html and signing the petition. And if you live in Europe, consider writing your legislators or perhaps even taking part in some EuroLinux/ Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) activities. In roughly the last 7 years, we in the US have let a number of dubious, tech-related bills become law. :-( Let's see if you Europeans can do better. :-)
Todd
