Although well-intentioned, all patent & copyright laws do is stymie competition.

I like the open-source world, because it breeds competition and what comes out on top is as good, if not better than their expensive commercially-produced competition.

To give an example, there were many attempts at creating parametric CAD software, but in a relatively short period of time, FreeCAD became the top player. There were plenty of office software applications, but LibreOffice wound up on top. Innovation reigns supreme under the protection of all the different types of open source licensing out there.

Have a project that doesn't hack it? Better have some thick skin...