Software gets pirated too Tim O'Reilly picked up on the quote I found most obnoxious in the recent Times piece on Holling's SSSCA legislation. Chernin, of News Corp, bleated

"Let's say I decide to broadcast on my network the code for how to make Intel chips or Microsoft software... I think they'd find a way to stop it."

Ignoring the fact that a simple lawsuit would stop this (instead of banning TV), the point is that software makers have their products pirated all the time and went down this anti-piracy path in the 80s. Code, after all, is as digital as mp3s (if not moreso). Anyway, Tim pick's up on this and nails it:

Consumer behavior gave marketplace advantage to companies that didn't use copy protection, and after a relatively short time, the industry got over its fears and got back to offering products that people were glad to pay for.

Go Tim! (link from Archipeligo)