Maybe we should consider whether software patents are necessary at all? There are disciplines where the core content is not itself patentable (or "intellectually protectable"), primarily because obviousness is hard to prove. The most accessible examples are food recipes and fashion designs - how do you demonstrate that a specific recipe has never been conceived of in the past? For disciplines that rely on the assembly of existing ideas, this actually seems like the rational thing to do.

Alternatively: can you think of any software patents that make sense to you?