That line is wild, btw.

We've been paying less and actively avoiding lower quality Cherry branded MX compatible switches.

There is no reason to ever pay Cherry's pricing when Kalih and Gateron completely control that market now.

Also, the patent they're discussing, afaik, isn't MX specific, but more a specific thing in how Cherry's switches work (including the MX). Kalih and Gateron both built their businesses on making patent-avoiding designs that are superior.