It's too bad SawStop saws are incredibly expensive (and going up in price Feb 1st.) They are definitely worth it compared to the cost of an injury, however many people are priced right out of owning one.
On the one hand, that guy shopped his technology around for years trying to find someone to work with... on the other hand, I find it weird to see a useful safety technology hidden behind patents.
Competitors only tried to enter the market after SawStop validated the market's existence. Something that never would have happened without the assurance of profit that the patent provided. The company tried to license the technology, unsuccessfully, for years, before going into manufacturing themselves.