Given that the margins are so tight and the expenses so high as you've illustrated, explain to me how it's possible that the extra costs involved with licensing patented hardware is not a significant factor?

It doesn't really make sense to say that on the one hand, it's super tough and hard to make a profit, and on the other hand the costs of accessing patented hardware is an immaterial cost.

Your post just really isn't convincing that a patent here has little effect on the ability for others to compete.

When margins are as tight as you say they are then obviously the costs of licensing are going to make the margins even thinner or next to impossible for another competitor to meet.

Love when people come out here with unironic defense here of monopolies by simply defending them as some meritocratic output of success or something.