Groklaw defends IBM and OIN very stubbornly (as well other initiatives that help legitimise software patents rather than immediately eradicate them), but Florian Müller from Germany disagrees with this approach

Setting the record straight on SCO allegation which Müller is now (re)using in order to belittle his opposition in a fight that overlaps Microsoft's agenda

"End Software Patents, a project working toward the elimination of software patents, was launched today. The ESP project will initially focus on two approaches: 1) assisting corporations that choose to challenge software patents in the courts and at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on the basis that patents for software and designs with no physically innovative step have no legal validity, and 2) public education aimed at passing laws to protect software from patent law. [...] In a separate announcement today, ESP released its first report on the current state of software and business method patents. The report covers the economic impact of software patents, including the $11.4 billion that U.S. businesses waste each year on software patent litigation.

Florian Müller (the English spelling of Müller is Mueller) has a problem. He has no provenance. To quote Wikipedia:

The debate over patents in Europe is starting to heat up again, just shortly after the patent maximalists got defeated; Sir Tim Berners-Lee explains his opposition to (F)RAND, in addition to software patents

A lot of bandwidth has been wasted arguing over the lack of usability in open-source software/free software (henceforth “OSS”). The debate continues at this moment on blogs, forums, and Slashdot comment threads.

To orchestrate change you need someone who can balance vision with pragmatism. In Eben Moglen the proponents choreographing the software patents debate have such a leader.

United States Patent and Trademark Office is reviewing its policy on software patents and is asking for feedback. Groklaw reports that the USPTO will be hosting a pair of roundtable sessions in February, during which the public will have the ability to attend and put forth their viewpoints.

I asked if it would be possible for the law firm of Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks to write an article defending business methods and software patents for Groklaw, and they were nice enough to agree to do it.