Software Patents

I'm not too sure how I feel about software patents. On the one hand, if someone comes up with a really new, original idea, then they should be able to benefit from it. On the other hand, I couldn't help but be sympathetic with this statement from a British judge:

"The United States takes the view that anything made by man, under the sun, can be patented. And they have granted patents for business methods, mainly computer business methods. But as far as I can see, it would cover a new and improved method of stacking oranges on a barrel"