[diminoten]

You can't remove yourself from the patent world if you're a company, no matter how much you might hate it. You as much get a patent to protect yourself as you get a patent for any other reason. It is a universally sound business strategy to protect your way of doing business, as the world is currently structured.

Secondly, a method for easing eye strain on long-term monitor viewers by changing the light frequency of the monitor gradually sounds like a great patent (I don't remember literally exactly what f.lux does, but it's something like that, right?).

Thirdly, software patents don't technically exist, and I know it may sound nitpicky to mention that, but from the phrasing you've used (open-source linux equivalent) it seems you think they're patenting the literal software, when in reality they're patenting the method. You can't patent software code itself. For at least a little while longer, we're living under a 'first-to-invent' system of patenting (until March 16th) so even if the linux equivalent exists, as long as f.lux can prove it's method was invented before the linux one was (and it was), they still have their claim.