jfruhlinger wrote If people had understood how patents would be granted when most of the ideas were invented today, and had taken out patents, the industry would be a complete standstill today. So said Bill Gates in the 1980′s Now, of course, Microsoft is one of the largest holders of software patents around And that’s the key issue of software patent reform: .. Companies that had the most incentive to deal with the problem found cheaper and easier to purchase up war chest of patents, and instead the Congress does not act unless the major stakeholders .. (Read: big business) make a stink