The UsPatentOffice Web site allows free searches of patents: http://www.uspto.gov/

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At least one place where you can obtain GIFs without risking infringement of anyone's patent...

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The place where many potentially society-changing inventions are last seen.

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A repository where non-working approximations of your killer idea are kept so that your application can be denied and BigBuxCorp can grab it and make fortunes for their board members.

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A place that was supposed to have been closed decades ago, since everything that could be invented already had been.

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Does anybody agree that software should not be patentable? I agree that it should be copyright-able, but not patentable for the same reason that math formulas should not be patentable. 

I just read an article about how patent applications are backlogged, and part of the "blame" is all the new software patents being filed. If they stop granting software patents, then the problem may be solved.

''Yes, many people agree that software should not be patentable. See, for instance, http://lpf.ai.mit.edu/ .''