ADTMag: Patent Wars and the End of the Software Business?

According to Gary Barnett in Application Development Tools Magazine on September 16, 2004, "The extension of patent law to cover software raises great dangers for an industry that has become increasingly litigious over the past decade. . . . The software industry is in the middle of a storm that could potentially have disastrous ramifications for IP law. If a global intellectual property war breaks out, the ultimate victims will be patent and copyright holders. Governments will move to prevent IP law from causing damage to their economies by repealing IP legislation and repudiating international treaties if necessary. Our advice to the industry as a whole is to apply IP law carefully and responsibly, or be prepared to face a backlash that could change the game entirely."