Re:The only thing I'm adamant about is... (Score 1)

On the contrary, patents are aimed at fostering innovation through public disclosure to allow derivative innovation or open new lines of thought. Patents and copyright aim to balance exclusivity (incentive to innovate) and public right to progress (through disclosure or fair use). I've written an analysis of that balance at:

http://homepage.mac.com/ccwu/file_format.html

It's a trade off, what's happened is that licensing agreements coupled with software have tipped the balance far to the publishers advantage beyond what I think was original intent.