Yes, and it also contains other IP block (for example the USB from Synopsys) for which fees will be paid by the manufacturer. The Cortex-M0+ cores in the rp2040 are probably pretty cheap, so they don't impact the final price much.
> is there a derivative or version of this chip without the ARM core?
No. There might be future versions (they are, in general, looking at Risc-V stuff), but there isn't too much benefit.
> That said, this is the same issue if there are MPEG codecs [..]
No it isn't. The issue with those is that not only does the creator of the IP block itself need to get paid, but also the patent pool behind it, which is usually much more expensive. For most products from a smaller company (and even many larger ones), an AV1 hardware codec or a DisplayPort output will also be an IP block bought from someone else.
Yes, and it also contains other IP block (for example the USB from Synopsys) for which fees will be paid by the manufacturer. The Cortex-M0+ cores in the rp2040 are probably pretty cheap, so they don't impact the final price much.
> is there a derivative or version of this chip without the ARM core?
No. There might be future versions (they are, in general, looking at Risc-V stuff), but there isn't too much benefit.
> That said, this is the same issue if there are MPEG codecs [..]
No it isn't. The issue with those is that not only does the creator of the IP block itself need to get paid, but also the patent pool behind it, which is usually much more expensive. For most products from a smaller company (and even many larger ones), an AV1 hardware codec or a DisplayPort output will also be an IP block bought from someone else.