What have software patents done but antagonize users, companies and everyone else in between? Not to mention that actually pursuing patent claims through the courts does not result in a good track record. And for what? It only stifles innovation, because small companies and individual programmers do not feel safe in releasing their ideas or programs since that "might" infringe on some company's ridiculous patent.

Ever hear of patent trolls? These companies make their living suing everyone for the patents they've bought from people. This is what you support, because it's capitalism?

I bet you'd then be open to me suing you in the case where we both had the same idea and I just managed to patent it before you did. How would you feel about that? Would you just shrug your shoulders and pay up, since it's capitalism? Or would you fight tooth and nail to prove that you came up with the same idea indepedently and therefore my claim is invalid?

Think about that before you post in support of software patents.