That was very well put!
If it helps us, we could envision a situation in which Microsoft licenses its Windows operating systems on a year-to-year basis, and then one year decides to get out of the business altogether, causing all licenses to expire and all Windows computers to cease functioning, crippling much of the nation’s infrastructure and endangering our very security.
In such circumstances, neither an individual’s nor a corporation’s patent right can be reasonably construed as trumping the rights of our nation. This is the same reasoning behind the (admittedly-distatesful) doctrine of eminent domain. For when the protection of individual rights endangers the very society created for such protection, things have really gotten out-of-whack.
To you both very well written. Great examples.
I tend to refer to the dark side of human nature, that Bastiat refers to as the ‘common tendency’ of ‘mankind’ to ‘live and prosper at the expense of others’.
To me the conundrum is how to keep ‘things from getting out of whack’.
FOrtunately, I don’t think MS works that way, but that was my big objection to DRM-protected music.
In fact, I did by a few DRM-protected songs, and I can no longer use them because Walmart’s server stopped working to provide DRM authentication.