Hi all,
For the german-speaking readers among you: I'd like to point you to some very good article by kyrah on software patents in Europe.
http://www.fsf.or.at/artikel/softwarepatente.html
It has already been pointed out that theoretically, sw patents are illegal in Europe, but that they're granted nevertheless. Now kyrah did some absolutely great research which shows how absurd sw patents really are. This might not be new to most of you, but the article is a very important tool nevertheless - it provides exactly the kind of information clueless politicians etc. need to maybe reevaluate their efforts of legalizing SW Patents. So please spread it, and maybe help provide translations!