> there wouldn't be any downsides? [..] the patent release of code that was designed and developed with such an effort because it was certain that it could be p

> there wouldn't be any downsides? [..] the patent release of code that was designed and developed with such an effort because it was certain that it could be patented I believe the downsides of software patents outweigh the upsides - simply too much monopolistic abuse is done with them, and developing anything new is a minefield where every two-bit "inventor" or troll or giant conglomerate from the last 25 years (or however long patents last in EU) will want a cut. There is certainly software that patents would make more financially viable to develop (and assuming no state funding fills in the role of patents). But there is a much larger category of software that would have been developed anyway, that gets patented just to form a patent arsenal for extorting developers. But that is a different question, on what the law should be. What the law in the EU is is that pure software is not patentable, yet it is being flagrantly ignored.