You might think so but the issue is that what they�ve patented is a trivial, standard idea, obvious to anyone who has ever programmed a computer, but now no-one else can use it. It�s never been possible before to patent a piece of text (the source code), which is what they have done, just as you can�t patent Pythagoras�s theorem.
The appropriate way to protect their "work" should they feel that the effort would be justified is copyright, which is not the same as patenting.
To take examples from other occupations, suppose you could patent a word, or a particular way of pushing a brush, so that anyone who used these had to pay for the privilege.
So in the first place, it�s a freedom of speech issue, in the second place it stifles innovation because a standard technique which has been used for years isn�t available any more. In the third place, scientific knowledge and techniques should be freely available to all as far as possible (I do not mean that what Amazon�s staff did could be described as science).
The greed of Amazon�s bosses isn�t the only cause of course, as you also have to blame the stupidity of the authorities who allowed it to happen. In the meantime, if you use their services, you encourage them.
Though the European Parliament voted recently against software patents, that fight is not yet over: the UK Government is lobbying hard to have the decision overturned by the Concil of Ministers on November 27.
To know more about the many threats to our digital rights, you can look at the Electronic Frontier Foundation website
www.eff.org or
http://www.ffii.org.uk/council.html Stephen
)
