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

The model train business isn't exactly the font of software innovation. But a lawsuit over the rights to a hobbyist's code could be a huge boost for developers of open source programs. It could also make some businesses think again about using open source software.

The U.S. is known for its patent friendliness. But a Supreme Court decision in 2008 overturned a patent application by Bernard L. Bilski and Rand A. Warsaw for a risk mitigation process. Now Red Hat is using the so-called Bilski case in support of software non-patentability.

Free software advocates are praising a federal appeals ruling that allows greater protection for open-source software against copyright infringement.

In-fighting within the open source community needs to stop or risk further alienating companies, attendees at the Cape IT Initiative's (CITI) FOSS event heard last week.

"The Supreme Court of New Jersey became the first court in the nation yesterday to rule that people have an expectation of privacy when they are online, and law enforcement officials need a grand jury warrant to have access to their private information..."

"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..."

"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.

Despite having recently been cast as the villain of the piece by some high profile members of the Free and Open Source Software community, IBM has just revealed itself as actually being something of a crime-fighting superhero.