I'm not sure that is entirely true. I'm no expert in the area but I would guess that the primary thing they are licensing is a particular design or instructio

I'm not sure that is entirely true. I'm no expert in the area but I would guess that the primary thing they are licensing is a particular design or instruction set, legally protected by copyright, not patents. I'm sure some patent licensing has to occur as part of any licensing for the protection of the licensee but I don't think the patents are the primary 'thing' being licensed, its the copyrighted material.