DISQUS

eee_eff · 1 year ago

Taking it just one step further:
It is entirely possible that unauthorized use of a digital good will actually increase it's value:

For example, a song that becomes popular will be worth more and possible sell for more.

Also, information signals that black market grey markets send can be valuable--the big four labels monitor what is being swapped in the p2p networks and use that information in their marketing.

Clearly, for certain types of goods (ie Free Software) to more copies are made the more valuable it becomes--more bug fixes, more testing, more eyeballs looking at more bugs, and the network effect of something becoming a 'standard' also has to be allowed to enter into the calculation--MS may bemoan unauthorized copying of windows, but if the unauthorized copying leads to their software maintaining its monopoly, the unauthorized copying benefited MS.