Keep in mind that phones at the time did not have side buttons, the side buttons on my iphone are ergonomically unsuitable for use as a morse key, are in the wrong location for it, and there wasn't an app store then.
I've also had many people copy my ideas, steal my software, and claim they invented them and wrote them. It gets a little tiring. I've used a registered copyright to stop some of those claims. Having a patent means I can solidly claim originality.
I also hoped someone would see the patent and want to implement it, as I was focused on other things.