…having a demo version of windows does not count as “having it”.

It’s a paid product. Windows Home costs 139$. And if you bought a laptop or pre-built PC with windows on it, you have already paid for the license as part of the price. And since most people buy pre-built PCs, or laptops, most people thus do pay for the windows license.

most users (outside of a few countries) have paid for windows. via oem or volume channels, as that’s where the vast majority of users source their windows from. oem pc sales or volume licenses. whether the original was 7, 8, 10 or 11. at the end of the day, a legit activated license for windows 11 is, or was born from, a paid license.