Software patents have long been the source of a great deal of concern in the free software community; patents are by far the biggest restraint on our ability to program our own computers. Those who worry about these things have expected that attacks might come from patent trolls, or from software companies with fading prospects.

We have the Novell's Petition for a Writ of Ceriorari [PDF] as text. This is its petition, asking the US Supreme Court to review the decision by the US Court of the Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Odds are always against the petitioner to the U.S. Supreme Court, of course, and the earliest it could be heard would be in April, we learned from a remark at Friday's trial in SCO v.

They played videos in court today, day 4 of SCO v. Novell's jury trial. SCO claims it has a surprise witness, like that surprises anyone that has been following SCO's legal ways. There was a dispute about that, but I gather it will happen eventually.

By a remarkable vote of 633 to 13, the Parliament rebuked European negotiators who have been drafting the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in a series of confidential meetings around the globe. No version of the document has been disclosed by the participants, which include the United States, the European Commission, Japan, and Canada.

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy's censorship policy won him the Internet Villain of the Year trophy, awarded by the British internet industry.

Amazon's 1-Click has come under a lot of fire over the years from critics who question whether such a broad technology should be patented at all. It refers to the process by which online shoppers make purchases with a single click, having previously entered their payment and shipping information.

The bankruptcy court dealing with the SCO Group has approved a loan from a group of investors. This means that the company now has sufficient funds for the pending jury trial against Novell.