ENIAC: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the World's First Computer, by Scott McCartney presents a slightly different view of the court case. It says that though t

ENIAC: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the World's First Computer, by Scott McCartney presents a slightly different view of the court case. It says that though the courts were on shaky legal ground throwing the patents out (there were fundamental differences between the ABC and ENIAC) it was really done to advance the computing industry, similar to how one of the Ford's (I think) early patents on the engine was ruled to only cover 2 cylinder engines (by that time most cars were onto 4 cylinders, effectively preventing Ford from maintaining a monopoly).