Ten is a good number lings to a Reg Developer story that demonstrates something - it demonstrates that patent offices in Europe can be every bit as stupid as those here in the US. Here's Sun getting a patent for changing the byte code set for Java:

The Patent Office has concluded that Sun Microsystems can patent an invention for a reduced set of Java Bytecode instructions the form of instructions that a Java Virtual Machine will follow to execute a Java program.

Yeah, there's something no one ever thought of before - changing the byte code to be more efficient. At least the ruling patent official is really up to speed on modern developments:

"In this case, I do not consider that the invention lies in excluded subject matter as such, i.e. a computer program," he said. "The invention was almost certainly made at a much earlier stage in the creative process, before any computer program had been written (or flowcharts generated) with a view to implementing the invention."

Flow Charts? What year is it again?