Very good points.  I believe Satoshi's intent was to make Bitcoin an entity for the people, owned by the people.  Bringing intellectual property into the fold would certainly undermine that.  It's one of those endearing qualities that makes me so fond of it - I honestly think the cryptocurrency revolution can make the world better and more equitable.  

That said, there is something about all these altcoins using Bitcoin in their name or the fact that Bitcoin Cash's "logo" is so similar to Bitcoin that can be confusing, misleading, and/or harmful to certain consumers, such as my colleague that I mentioned in my original post.  I remember reading an article that talked about how the Bitcoin Core Developers were more hostile towards Segwit 2X than something like Bitcoin Cash because Segwit 2X intended to *be* Bitcoin, not just a Bitcoin derivative (as you could argue Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin Gold are - along with the dozens or more non-forked altcoins using the Bitcoin name).  The Bitcoin "brand" is probably one of it's biggest advantages in a now very competitive marketplace (along with its already established infrastructure), and it could end up being the difference-maker during the current crypto jockeying for market share.