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Granted, this is a tongue-firmly-in-cheek article, but the points it raises are quite valid. Ignore the parts about software patents for now, as that is a whole seperate discussion, but it does explain why movies/music are not patentable.

It's worse than that IIRC. "Technical effect", "computer-implemented invention" and the like are not phrases used by any computer professional I know. They are code-phrases for "'pure' software". "Technical effect" is not the same as "physical effect", one-click (TM) has a technical effect but who (in their right mind) argues it is a good patent? Write to your minister, your MP and your MEPs clarifying this (for their own benefit. of course). The argument is:

'To be patentable, an invention must have technical character. This means that the invention must relate to a technical field and solve a technical problem. A computer program has a technical character if it causes a technical effect when run on a computer. This effect must be more than the "normal" physical interaction between program and computer. In practice, this requirement is rarely a problem for inventions that use software for their realization. So it should not come as a surprise that there are many European patents covering software-related inventions.' [Ius mentis]

"See No ePatents and No to swpats for sensible arguments.

Patenting songs and artwork. If you need to draw an analogy for the layman, there's one they can identify with:
I'm sorry, but if your art class wants to paint that bowl of fruit, you'll have to pay us 699 Euro for each painter's fruit bowl painting patent license.

But the European Patent Office allows software patents anyway, using an argument centered on the phrase "as such", which appears in Article 52. So if they wanted to allow patents on artwork, music or films, they have already opened the door for doing so.

I've written a slightly humorous article on the subject called "Why Can't I Patent My Movie?" that you may find interesting.

A little clarification is required I think regarding the Bostream's scream, as it is heavily dependant on distance from the phone station:

• Less than 300 m: up to 26/26 Mbps (4-channel VDSL)
• Less than 1000 m: up to 13/13 Mbps (4-channel VDSL)
• Less than 5500 m: up to 8/1 Mbps (ADSL)

Very few will actually be able to get the 26 Mbps due to the awfully short maximum distance to the phone station.

And then there is the scream lite that is a bit cheaper but with some considerably slower speeds, from e.g. 256/64 kbps for 198.00 kr SEK = $27.64 USD.

I myself have Bostream's scream and as I live about 3500 m away from the phone station I thus have the 8/1 Mbps ADSL. It works pretty well, the maximum download speeds I've got is over 900 kB/s when having multiple downloads in progress at the same time. The highest individual download speed I've seen so far was about 700 kB/s.

I have it in London (0.5/0.25 Mbit/s), but I expect to be in Sweden soon where I will be using this instead (8/1 Mbit/s to 26/26 Mbit/s). All for a paltry $40/month.

What do I use it for? Mainly always-on internet access, FTP server, always-on Evercrack, etc. But this is the most fun actually: video telephone. I just hang up on a call to a friend in San Francisco, 30 minutes, not a penny spent. :)

In sweden you can get 26MB/sec up and down for 49$ Here's the proof!

Here in Sweden, you can get 26 megabits/second, for $45/month. ^_^

Want 26Mbps for $48.65 (USD)? (xe.com/ucc)
Move to sweden.

Bostream.se (Bostream "scream" product page)

Want 26Mbps for $48.65 (USD)? (xe.com/ucc)
Move to sweden.

Bostream.se (Bostream "scream" product page)

Has anyone else noticed that Swedes are the some of the best file-sharers in the world? It's largely because they have such awesome upload caps

Actually, we don't have caps. I have friends who have their 512Kbit ADSL downloding all day, they dl around 5 gigs a day, and have been doing so for months (one would think they'd run out of things to DL, but they seem to manage to find it).

I think that Sweds share a lot of data because of the connection speeds being offered in the country. How does an uncapped line, 26MBit both directions for $45 a month sound?
Living in any of the bigger cities, you can get 26MBit ADSL, 10MBit ADSL and 11MBit wireless (works in the major part of most larger cities) for less than $50 a month. On top of that, SUNET (Swedish University Network) is giving most stdents in Sweden a 10MBit line. Sunet itself is many gigabits (don't remember how many exactly).

With connections like that, it's not difficult to see why a lot of data comes and goes from the country.

Yeah, I heard about that also.. Bostream are providing 26/26 Mbps, 13/13 Mbps or 8/1 Mbps (down/up) depending on how far you are from the closest "station" (word?) for $40/month..
26/26 if you are closer than 300m, 13/13 if you are 300-1km and 8/1 if you are 1km+ away.. I called Bostream and they said my new apartment (which I'm moving to 2nd july) is about 1.3km away so I will only get 8/1 Mbps... But it's still better than the only (=next best) alternative in that house.. Sucky UPC with 1.5Mbps/738Kbps for the same price, so I ordered Bostream anyway! ;)