tl;dr: Linux developer Mike Lothian attempted to write an improved Rust-based DRM/KMS driver (Vino) for his DisplayLink dock after the vendor's proprietary binary kept crashing, but Synaptics responded with cease-and-desist letters citing 125 patents and threatening $25,000/week in escalating penalties. Although Synaptics is an Open Invention Network member, OIN determined its protections don't apply because codecs are explicitly excluded from its Linux System Definition. Lothian has taken down the repository and shelved upstream submission, unable to afford a legal defense—a reminder that software patents remain a serious threat to open-source development.