How Software Patents Were Viewed or Their General Status Changed Over Time
A rough summary. This is how I understand it.
When UNIX was new: Martin Goetz does bad things
When the FSF was 5: In 1991 Richard Stallman Thought GNU/Linux Was Doomed Due to Software Patents
Early 2000s: A software patents bubble in full swing
Mid 2000s: European activists squash software patents in Europe
2006: Microsoft's war on Linux using software becomes "official"
2007: The likes of the Linux Foundation and OIN, front groups of patent hoarders, resist or distract from the above-mentioned activists
2010: EPO normalises corruption and ignores the law
2010-2013: Microsoft attacks many OEMs, demanding Android and Linux patent "royalties" (tax)
2014: Alice blows a hole in the software patents bubble in the US
2015: Online news dips, along with coverage of patent news and especially software patents
2016: Many sites give up covering EPO corruption, usually due to bullying by the EPO
2017: USPTO Director goes to GAFAM (revolving doors)
2018: Patent trolls and (or with) software patents seldom mentioned in the media, even if the problem is unsolved
2019: EPO reputation sags and China games the system by allowing loads of low-quality patents
2021: USPTO Director leaves to become a patent trolls' profiteer
2022: EPO becomes very blatant about breaking the law and allowing - even encouraging - patents on algorithms
2023: USPTO led by a Microsofter and makes OOXML-like garbage - or the proprietary .docx that only Microsoft implements and keeps secret* - a requirement (any other format entails financial penalties)
2025: Some mass layoffs at USPTO and an office shutdown
We've left out many things, but that's just a sub-sample. █
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* As an associate puts it, "there is no such thing as OOXML in practice, only a suite of .docx formats".