Blockchain patents are attacks on the open source community.

Open source projects have a close relation with freedom of speech.
Bitcoin and the blockchain technologies have been open source from the beginning because they promote freedom.
The code can be viewed, copied, modified so new applications can be made easily.

Anyone can go up on github and inspect the source code of projects.
Having open source software that is free to modify is one of the greatest things in a free democratic community.

But there are those who do not support freedom. But seek to disrupt it.

Mastercard, a company known to only work with fiat currencies (endlessly printable money with a fundamentally corrupt system), has filed a patient for speeding up blockchain node activation time.

While the underlying blockchain genie has been out of the bottle for years and cannot be patented, many companies wish to own part of the improvements of the technology which will allow them to sue all others trying to use it.
In their own way, trying to corrupt it by centralizing the ownership of its code.

There are many other companies filing patients, with over 50 being filed for Bitcoin and many more for blockchain protocols.
Like IBM patenting its own proof of work for IOT applications...
Some companies making patents are experienced players in the fiat money world, which is fundamentally evil and is based on the creation of debt. These companies will try to use their experience to restrict our freedom by trying to centralize the use of blockchain protocols.

"Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our minds"
Bob Marley