Just this month in Germany, the Bundespatentgericht, which means Federal Patent Court, ruled on a case between Microsoft and Google. In the case, Microsoft had made a claim of patent infringement against Google's Motorola Mobility and Google Maps, against EP0845124, which was for a "computer system for identifying local resources and method therefore".
The German court found that this patent was invalid, likely on the basis that it is too general and would not be in the interest of preserving competition. There should definitely be multiple companies allowed to create a computer system to identify local resources -- this is an extremely broad function, and not a specific technology, which is what patents should exist to protect.
Like the American justice system, the system in Germany has its flaws. One such flaw is that when decisions like this are made, companies have the ability to appeal these decisions. This is problematic because as it turns out, in these sorts of cases where a patent is ruled invalid, the decision is overturned more than 40% of the time.
However, it is important to admire the system for being able to rule in a consumer-friendly manner. This is an important lesson, from which Americans can learn.
Source: http://www.fosspatents.com/2014/02/federal-patent-court-of-germany.html
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