Pantone colors aren't just generic colors like red, yellow, or blue. They are very specific and standardized, which makes them useful in color dependent professions like graphic design or interior design. As a commercial architecture an interiors photographer, I have specifically asked my clients for their colors to ensure that the pictures I deliver to them are a perfect match.

The colors can be licensed because they are someone's intellectual property. In fact, they were already being licensed to Adobe by Pantone, but Pantone got upset because Adobe wasn't keeping these very specific colors up to date in their software.

Here's an article from the popular photography website PetaPixel about the issue:

https://petapixel.com/2022/10/28/you-have-to-pay-a-subscription-to-use-pantone-colors-in-photoshop-now/