As discussed a loooooooong time ago. I asked Rick if he wanted to license it and he simply said no. It was his business decision.
As to it being "sub-par"... I'm curious how you came to this conclusion. The ATRS MS is a solid product, but the SAI is no slouch either. As to the ATRS choice of aluminum: The jury is still out on that one. T6061 and T7075 are different beasts and have different properties. I still believe it is better to use the 6061 (as long as it is hard anodized and not simply cerakoted) in the AR15 design as an over pressure will more likely result in a "bulge", not a "shatter". Again, preference, not "sub-par" or lower grade.
On top of that: Over 500 went out the door with very little issue. For that alone, I am very happy.
If the RCMP lab actually did their job and followed their published timelines, I would have had my own design out on the market a long time before the ban and this conversation would be mute. I am still waiting for that specific FRT (eye roll) as well as a number of others. I did share this info with Rick to demonstrate that producing the MS was not the preferred route. Again... I spoke with Rick before I proceeded. He declined my offer. Given his product was public domain, this was not something I even had to do, but I felt it was the right thing to do.
I do not regret copying the MS but it wasn't the plan. But we committed with the machine shop for hours and materials and it looked like the clock was running out. If I did not make the decision I did; instead of getting a small return, I would have taken a huge financial loss and be sitting on a pallet of 6061 aluminum blocks.... and there are now 500 more rifles out there!
From my perspective; Rick did and still is reaping some pretty significant rewards and his order book was already full.
In the end: The SAI MS took zero orders away from Rick. In my mind, this is the best outcome for everyone.