Despite Obama stating his intention to clear up the broken software patents system in the States, there are still borderline insane decisions going through:
A firm called Ultramercial claims to have invented the concept of showing a customer an ad instead of charging for content. The company has sought royalties from a number of Web sites, including Hulu and YouTube. Ultramercial’s patent isn’t limited to any specific software algorithm, server configuration or user interface design. If you build a Web site that follows the general business strategy claimed by the patent, Ultramercial thinks you owe them money.
This is a case that’s gone to appeal and the patent has just been upheld by the Appeals Court. Everyone involved in this decision should hand their heads in shame and quit their position immediately as it’s untenable.