Licensing of the IBM patent portfolio is routinely reported as being in excess of $1 billion annually. If Software Patents get thrown out then so will a chunk o

Licensing of the IBM patent portfolio is routinely reported as being in excess of $1 billion annually. If Software Patents get thrown out then so will a chunk of that billion. The sad reality about software patents is while they are a terrible thing, there is too much power and money involved for a right leaning Supreme Court to throw them out, and while in the short term you might see some meaningful patent reform proposed, once the lobbyists get their way it certainly won't be in favor of the the little guy.