I should point out one difference between the US & Europe. The USPTO is quite pro-software patent, as is the EPO (European Patent Office). However, although the EPO has issued many software patents, they are legally questionable, because the European Patent Convention says that software cannot be patented. So, even though these patents have been issued, it is unclear as to whether they will be held valid by the courts. Some courts have said no, a few have said yes, but on the whole it is still legally undecided. By contrast, in the US the courts have already said yes to software patents. Thus, the US really is in a whole lot worse situation than Europe. (At the end of the day, patent offices can issue patents to their heart's content -- the real issue is whether the courts are willing to enforce them.)