I don't know about patents, but macOS resolution scaling is horrible when compared to both Windows and Linux. I believe its th expectation that every mac user is using an apple branded display, and given that over 85% of macs being sold are portable, they're not wrong.why Apple needs to stick with certain pixel per inch numbers is a patent that Microsoft holds for resizing of UI elements.
Better Display largely resolves the issue by providing HiDPI resolutions that are not available via the systems panel.