Software patents are a problem. But perhaps software engineers are biased about this particular regulation because this is the field they work in. Seems to me similar arguments can be made about all other patents, and all other IP laws, and even all other regulations period. They do more harm than good.
My grandfather was a mechanical engineer. He never said anything bad about patents, and even got one for himself. One is not automatically biased against patents in one's own field. Software engineers oppose software patents not because of bias, but because they're harmful.
I don't know the value of patents in other fields. There may be areas where patents accomplish the purpose they were designed for.
