I had to laugh (along with some others, I see) at Microsoft patent application # 20060195313, filed 31 August 2006:
Method and system for selecting and conjugating a verb
Abstract: A verb conjugating system allows a user to input a form of a verb and display the verb forms. The verb conjugating system allows the user to input the infinitive form or non-infinitive forms of a verb. When a user inputs a non-infinitive form of a verb, the verb conjugating system identifies a corresponding base form of the verb. The verb conjugating system then uses the base form to retrieve and display the verb forms for the verb. The verb conjugating system may highlight the non-infinitive form of the verb within the displayed verb forms to assist the user in locating the verb form of interest.
Isn’t this just what the Perseus DL has been providing for more than fiften years now?
It is interesting to note that some pure-logic patents are granted because their innovative step (or their non-obviousness) consists in being executed on a binary calculator or general-purpose machine (aka computer).
No Lobbyists as Such provides further insight into this topic.