They could also potentially sidestep the issue by designing a discrete DisplayPort to HDMI chip into the system, so the HDMI 2.1+ implementation is firewalled from the open source stack. Maybe next time, if the HDMI Forum still hasn't budged by then.
Intel did this with the ARC A750/770
https://community.intel.com/t5/Graphics/HDMI-2-1-UHD-144Hz-A...