Patents are a hard problem. I’ve had to advise most of the startups we’ve funded about them, and despite years of experience I’m still not always sure I’m giving the right advice.
One thing I do feel pretty certain of is that if you’re against software patents, you’re against patents in general. Gradually our machines consist more and more of software. Things that used to be done with levers and cams and gears are now done with loops and trees and closures. There’s nothing special about physical embodiments of control systems that should make them patentable, and the software equivalent not.
Source: Are Software Patents Evil?