I read Tom Tromey's blog entry on Planet Classpath, where he discusses concerns about large companies acquiring software patents and using them to stifle innovation.

I have three software patents pending, which I've filed for on my own. It is expensive -- several thousand dollars of legal fees each. I was working on them yesterday, wondering why I still bother, since the software startup that I started the applications for has long since folded. But I will grant a perpetual royalty-free license to them for any software that meets the Debian Free Software Guidelines.