The patents are there to provide income to breeders and growers who put a lot of time and effort into coming up with new plants. If you wanted to earn an income from this kind of work, you'd probably feel differently about this. It's not just ka-ching for the nursery, it's vital support for valuable people. Not that I really like the rules, and it's totally fair to complain about the restrictions they mean to impose, but pause for a moment to consider the creativity and persistence that gave rise to some of the hybrids and cultivars we most prize.
At the moment, or at least until recently, Altman employs two breeders who have done great things. Renee O'Connell with Echeverias, Kelly Griffin with aloes (and of course other plants). Of course they want to extract income from this work, and of course they are a business so they seek to maximize that income. But these people are special.
That said, I don't think the patent police are all that interested in what you do in the privacy of your own back yard, so much as what the nurseries who mass produce plants are doing. They'll show up unannounced at a nursery and if someone is found to be in violation, they will provide a strong incentive to be more careful in the future. They're not going to be knocking on your door any time soon.
