The issue of Software Patent has been around for a while, but unless you really  have the time and drive to try to understand all that is involved you will be left like most of us, just wondering. The guys at Patent Absurdity have made a great documentary about this issue.

Patent Absurdity explores the case of software patents and the history of judicial activism that led to their rise, and the harm being done to software developers and the wider economy. The film is based on a series of interviews conducted during the Supreme Court’s review of in re Bilski — a case that could have profound implications for the patenting of software. (extracted)

The whole documentary was made with free software.

• Cinelerra for video editing
• Audacity for audio editing
• Inkscape, Python and Blender for animation
• Ogg Theora and Ogg Vorbis codecs
• Edited on GNU/Linux machines

Watch the Patent Absurdity documentary here.