[makomk]

Now suppose the automation technology is thoroughly patented and the inventor effectively has a government-granted monopoly on the right to use it or anything similar to it.

[icebraining]

That might delay things, but (1) patents expire and (2) there are often ways around them.

[marcosdumay]

In this case, the inventor gets rich, and everything still gets cheaper (just not as much as in the alternative).