"Software patents" are not allowed in Europe, but in practise you just have to call them "computer implemented inventions", and write them in legalese nonsense that is even less readable than a pure software patent would be, avoiding mentioning any keyword known in the fields of computer science or software engineering.

More detail: https://fsfe.org/campaigns/swpat/swpat.en.html

The law should be something like just manipulating the electronic state on an otherwise non-infringing machine is never an infringement. You have to actually connect it to new hardware.

Isn't that patent expired as of recently?

Yes it did but it lost earlier. But still wasted a lot of resources which could have gone in something of real value to nature or humanity.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/220290418_Amazon's_...

  But still wasted a lot of resources which could have gone in something of real value to nature or humanity

That's arguably 90% of law in hindsight. The problem is that humans aren't psychic, and without the legal system we have a hard time getting along.

I'm genuinely unconvinced that we would be worse off with a reduction or removal of patents' scope over much of modern monopolising in many industries. Sure, it's difficult to know with any certainty that changing the law wouldn't have bad knock-on effects, but what is clear to see is that the implimentation as it currently stands allows for some flagrant abuses.