Quite ironic, in my view - because it's that singleminded pursuit of maximum profit in all situations that leads the corporate mind to consider the current patent system a Good Thing. Not because it furthers society or any such weakminded claptrap, but because it affords one more place where rent-seeking behavior is not only condoned but explicitly encouraged.
It's my fervent opinion that rent-seeking behavior and similar economic dysfunction is one of chief underlying problems with economy and with society as a whole. OWS isn't objecting to rich people in general - just to rich people whose modus operandi is to drain resources from everybody while never giving any back. There's no thought for the larger consequences, and the law permits it only because most people have so far been more or less well enough off that they don't need to bother with it.
It's all coming to a head now, though. Or so I damn well hope.
I agree wholeheartedly with your bitterness here; this is precisely my beef with the patent system as misapplied to software - but the truth of the matter is that mechanisms like Kickstarter would be a great way out of our societal bind, while their actual success makes them a target for leeches.
As per usual, these companies don't share a single line of code, and Kickstarter was in business for years before this guy's patent was even approved.
But somehow, he can claim to have invented crowdfunding for creative projects -- USING A COMPUTER.
BS.