W3C is almost pure software. That is an area where patents shouldn't exist, and luckily an area where patents are not ubiquitous.

For things like WiFi, or 5G, there is a lot more room for 'real' patents. Because there is a lot more hardware/electronics design in there. Aswell as there being a culture that is much more accepting of patents which means a lot more of the design space is covered by patents.