In the ongoing saga of patent trolls, here is an article on a victory against them in the US:
« It’s no secret in the tech world that there have been a lot of ridiculous software patents over the years, but the one taken to court by patent-holding company Ultramercial stands out. The patent, invented by Dana Howard Jones, basically describes a process of watching an online ad in exchange for viewing a video. An appeals court opinion (PDF) out this morning has invalidated the Jones patent. »
http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/index/~3/0wXmsvRd-6k/