Speaking of software patents expiring and improving things for everyone: the patents associated with Windows 7 expire in 2029. So If any billionaire is feeling generous they could fund a project to reverse engineer it. Just saying.
ReactOS already exists!
ReactOS is a free, opensource reimplementation of windows
Much of Windows isn't covered by patents, and in general tools like Wine and React are developed from cleanroom reverse-engineering to avoid such legal conflicts.











