No one is stopping you from mining, making ASICS, optimizing your shit to make it faster/more efficient. You just can't use AsicBoost's work. Not without paying for it. Because it's not yours.
I don't want to use their work. I want to use an optimization that I came up with independently, but which they are attempting to claim some kind of ownership of.
Are you telling me that my idea is not mine because you had the same idea? That makes no sense.