&gt;<i>There are only two real incentives that we, as a society, have to grant patent protection. One is to ensure that inventors have a fair chance to recoup their R&amp;D investment. The other is to offer an alternative to trade secrets, where the innovative methods are locked up, potentially forever, by a single proprietor. Obviously, neither of these applies here.</i><p>I actually disagree with both -- let R&amp;D happen by public research (e.g. universities) that competes for funds based on results, and then makes said results available for everybody (at least in the same country who did the paying).<p>But that said, I don&#x27;t see why the people who did this &quot;obviously&quot; don&#x27;t need a &quot;fair chance to recoup their R&amp;D investment&quot;. Does it say anywhere that the R&amp;D investment must be huge? Because that&#x27;s not the case with tons of patents -- some are just accidental inventions, like the fabled 3M&#x27;s post-it notes.<p>&gt;<i>There is absolutely no reason for us to grant patent protection to f.lux. The burden of proof falls on those who would argue otherwise.</i><p>Actually if the patent office DOES grant them a patent, then the burden on proof falls on you.