I like having the alternative. But the problem is that 100% of your ecosystem needs to not use React. And that's the majority of the value I've gotten from using React: all the components I get from libraries like antd that save me a ton of prototyping time.
Using InfernoJS doesn't mean you aren't infringing on Facebook patents.
A very large software company that use Inferno in production already had their legal team look into Inferno. It didn't infringe on any patents.
What makes it different than react in that respect?