[stickfigure]

Patents are always good for the patent holder. The question is whether or not the patent is good for society, and justifies the patent enterprise in the first place.

To this, the only major point of consideration should be: Without patent protection, would this technology have been developed anyways?

For the vast majority of patented software, the answer is yes. Probably including pagerank and mp3. The patent process brings no value to society and therefore shouldn't be enforced by society.

In the case of drug discovery & development, the answer clearly different. Patents make sense.