Today I needed to pee urgently while out on the street, and this triggered some thinking about patents (strange I know).
So while I was holding my need, I started thinking about toilets around me, and I realised that there were hundreds. Every house nearby has at least one bathroom. The resource is not scarce at all. So why am I struggling? Because I do not have easy access to what I need. I need to ask for permission.
Patents are the same. They force the potential user to ask for permission, creating a friction that is hard to overcome even without monetary requirement.
For Wardley maps, this is a way to create inertia.
ps: I managed to get to the office ;)