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WHAT ALTERNATIVES ARE THERE TO THE "ENCLOSURE MOVEMENT" IN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY? This paper examines the extension of IPR protection for software in the US from copyright to patents, with a special emphasis on the current difference between the EU and US positions. In particular, it discusses whether the EU would be wise to amend its rules to follow the US. In this respect, the authors show the differences between patent and copyright protection and argue that the EU should resist emulating the US moves to make digital copyright follow the worst of patent practices. US evidence indicates that there have been high costs and few benefits from changes in its law, in particular as a result of the vagueness of certain new patents, the poor testing of prior art, and the difficulty of the "obviousness test", with the result that we see the development of "patent thickets".