STATING THE OBVIOUS? "Patents are being used as an offensive measure," John MacPhail, a partner at Baker & McKenzie, told attendees at a forum on software patents in Sydney on Wednesday.

"People are pooling and accumulating patents so that they can cross license with other players and make it harder for the little guys," MacPhail said. "It's a rich player's business. If you don't have any patents, you don't have any weapons in your armoury."

- Don't know about the "rich player's business" comment, but isn't that kind of the whole point of patenting?