Patent madness

Sometimes, pigs can fly. I hereby quote an article from the ultra-libertarian Cato Institute:

... software development is an individual, creative activity, more akin to writing a novel than designing a jet engine. A single programmer can inadvertently infringe dozens of software patents in the course of a single project ... We don't expect novelists to hire patent lawyers before publishing their work; nor should we expect computer programmers or their employers to have patent attorneys on retainer

I am sure that the code we write for weather forecasting probably violates dozens of patents. Luckily, we have no money, so no body sues us.  Still, being judgement-proof is no way to operate.