A report from the Financial Times on an important ruling in the UK-

Hi-tech companies will be able to patent software programs after a key court decision that may move the UK closer to Europe in its treatment of computer related inventions.

The (UK) High Court yesterday said that the Patent Office was incorrectly applying the law in automatically rejecting claims for computer programs, in a case brought by four small British businesses.
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If companies can show that their programs make a substantive inventive contribution they will be eligible for protection regardless of the fact that they are distributed on a computer disc, the court said.

This is good for innovation. Per the news coverage on beneficiaries of the decision-

The ruling should help level the playing field in an industry dominated by corporate titans such as Microsoft and Oracle, intellectual property experts said.

"This is a win for hard-working inventors and small businesses, who need patent protection to take advantage of any niche in the market," said Ed Round, a patent attorney at Marks & Clerk.
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The decision should ease the burden on small technology companies who were going to Europe to seek patent protection, where the hurdle for computer-related patents is generally lower, lawyers said.