In my opinion I think the worst thing that could be happen is that BU is only a possible prelude of a "private network" and a prelude of a way for patents registered.
Not sure how BU could be a prelude for patents registered since prior art clearly exists.
However Blockstream has not only filed for numerous patents but has the financial backing of companies that expect to profit from those patents.
It is the second-layer networks that are the prelude to the bitcoin patent wars.