Patents worry me.

Being a nerdy geeky person, I try to keep up with the latest in everything nerdy. Mostly through slashdot, but that's neither here nor there. Anyway, not a week goes by that there isn't news of some new patent/patent battle going on, and it's really quite worrisome. The problem is, all of these major software companies are snatching up patents left and right on even the most mundane of things. Creative just got a patent for using menus to select music in music players and are now trying to sue apple over it. The problem that exists is that all this rampant patenting is closing off all future attempts by anyone at making even the most basic of programs. This patenting is effectively causing many large companies to have monopolies on pretty much everything computer related, effectively cutting out any and all competitors, many of whom may have much better ways to implement the ideas, but can no longer do so. Patenting, in general, but more specifically for the tech and software industry is beginning to strangle creativity and possibility. I don't doubt that at some point in the future, products will start getting much more specific in function instead of being able to do everything, because everyone else has patented one thing or another and won't let any of it be used. It's rather depressing really.