John does a good job of explaining the difference between software patents and traditional hardware patents to the layperson. He notes that while hardware patents are usually very specific, software patents can be so general as to cover ideas that the patent holder "had never even dreamed of". He also strongly implies that the US Innovation Act <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innovation_Act>, after being passed by the House, was killed in the Senate by lobbyists representing trial lawyers.