US Software patents

[John W. Eaton]

This post is a bit off topic, but if you care about free software
projects like Octave, then you should also know about the threat posed
by software patents.

If you are in the US, there is perhaps a (brief -- next few days)
window of opportunity to "advise" the White House that software
patents are a barrier to innovation (if "community" is defined
broadly).  At http://www.whitehouse.gov/advise they are currently
asking for responses to the question

  What are the obstacles to innovation that you see in
  your community?  And what steps can be taken to remove them?

jwe