Z:gnu-www-ja-software-patents--d3165f-Now, people used to say to me,/en

Now, people used to say to me, &ldquo;Well, there are patents in other fields, why should software be exempt?&rdquo;. Note the bizarre assumption in there that somehow we are all supposed to suffer through the patent system. It is like saying &ldquo;Some people get cancer. Why should you be exempt?&rdquo; As I see it, each person who doesn't get cancer is good. But there is, behind that, a less biased question, which is a good question which is: Is software different from other fields? Should patent policy be different in different fields? If so, why?