Please comment on software patent applications, especially for open-source software.

That is a very broad topic on which I could talk about to infinitum. Do you have anything in particular you want me to comment on?

Do you see patent applications for open source software, namely in the blockchain space, a) being successful, and b) able to limit or restrict others from creating similar applications?

I think that depends on when the application was filed. The fundamental implementations Blockchain itself has been out for quite awhile; any patents directed to blockchain itself would be towards incremental improvements at this point, unless someone had filed a patent for blockchain before Bitcoin came out.

I could foresee maybe a patent pool or companies participating in a standards body that wants to standardize blockchain implementations getting patents on those implementations, but so far I haven't seen anything like that yet. At best, it would be patent applications on particular implementations of blockchain versus something that would outright shut the technology down.