Software patents and encumbered formats

Obviously, one way to address the problem is to get rid of software patents, or at least not
actively try to make the situation worse as Nokia has done.

Yes, it is hard to be sure there is no lurking patent that covers Ogg.  The same is true for
MP3 and any other format.  The only consolation you have with MP3 is the thought that if
somebody had a patent they probably would have asserted it by now.  But then that's surely
what Microsoft thought.