If you ignore the cable, you still have an annual fee + per-product royalty (though the royalty is like 15 cents for HDMI) to have HDMI + HDCP. The annual fees

If you ignore the cable, you still have an annual fee + per-product royalty (though the royalty is like 15 cents for HDMI) to have HDMI + HDCP. The annual fees are 5-10k for each (even in small volumes), and they may just be trying to make up the cost.