Innovation is sort of the point of the patent system. So maybe this paragraph should stay there to explain that software patent actually work against innovation in software.
One strong point in favour of keeping this paragraph is that most people don't actually understand that writing software is a substantially different activity than producing drugs for instance. Patents are trying to cover an activity (writing software) which wasn't meant to be covered by the patent system, applying patent to it is actually counterproductive.
Again, this is a side-issue of software freedom. But Software freedom is directly impacted by lack of possibility left for innovation.
Now I draw your attention to this: the current paragraph about innovation is not well written in my opinion (and this largely my fault) so native English speakers are really needed here because they will do a much better job of putting in one or two sentences what would take me 5.
Thanks, Hugo