I work at a company with a large contingent of non-Windows users. (several thousand people on CATIA workstations, most have done little to zero MS Office work, most are fairly internet/computer illiterate). Ribbon based Office works very well for them. They weren't proficient at the old office and the ribbon is a lot more approachable.
The same goes for my parents. They can get a lot more done in the new office vs the old office.
I think most of the negative opinions on ribbon come from people that were good with the old interface. The transition to the ribbon was all pain with no pay off. But for those that couldn't navigate the old office (many people), the ribbon makes finding functionality a lot easier.
Your point about licensing vs inventing a lot of the technology is fairly moot, Apple licensed a bunch of the multi-touch technology from various inventors (including the university I went to).