@emphrath In Europe, software patents are not legal but in spite of this, the IPO (European Patent Office) does not hesitate to register them even if they have no effect in the European courts.
It is a battle that has been going on for a long time in order not to arrive at the very harmful situation that prevails in the USA (or, for that matter, a reverse movement to start opposing it exists).
More information about that on FFII (Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure) website.