I'm on board for abolishing software patents, but it would help if the author understood what the (ostensible) purpose of the patent system was: This effective

I'm on board for abolishing software patents, but it would help if the author understood what the (ostensible) purpose of the patent system was: This effectively undermines the entire purpose of the patent system: the patent office is charging applicants serious money for giving it the privilege of giving away their commercial secrets. Giving away commercial secrets is why the patent system exists! The fact that software patents usually are too obscure to give away their secrets is part of what makes software patenting so dysfunctional in the first place.