The core of RISC-V is already out there. It includes all the most critical parts and they aren't likely to be patented. Intel wouldn't own the ISA and be (effe

The core of RISC-V is already out there. It includes all the most critical parts and they aren't likely to be patented. Intel wouldn't own the ISA and be (effectively) the only game in town. If they refused to license at reasonably costs, other companies wouldn't add the feature and it simply wouldn't get much use by developers. This has already happened to some extent with the current duopoly. Patents also cut both ways. Intel hardly has a monopoly on good ideas. For any idea they want to patent, they have to be very sure that one of the myriad other companies, students, and hobbyists haven't already had the same idea too otherwise their patent will simply be invalidated. Finally, if Intel has come up with a good ISA extension and is willing to license it to others for a reasonable cost, I think that's a great boon for everyone.