I think its also worth pointing out that the EU Commission was trying to 
  introduce similar patent laws to the EU.

It is very VERY important that people in the EU contact their Euro MPs. 
  The MPs are trying to prove that they actually do something for a 
living so they do respond. They are also generally against the patent 
laws and so may even do something about it. I contacted the Labour 
EuroMP for Wales and was very surprised to get a quite informed reply.

sai

Chris Bagnall wrote:
>>I don't suppose there's any geek-law peeps listening that 
>>would care to craft and share (GPL?) a technically sound 
>>response to these clowns?
> 
> 
> Might be worth posting something like this on Groklaw or Slashdot - there
> are usually a few lawyers floating around there. Or possibly fire a copy of
> the initial threatening letter to the EFF or Chilling Effects clearinghouse?
> 
> FWIW I'm inclined to agree with you - it seems to be a poor attempt at
> extracting some cash from small businesses that are unlikely to challenge in
> court. I'd also think there are plenty of examples of prior art - in fact I
> think a number of the comments on the slashdot discussions a couple of weeks
> ago when this first came to light listed specific examples of prior art.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Chris