I don't think that anyone is claiming that there aren't tradeoffs. You seem to agree that there are times when licensing provides a benefit to society that outw

I don't think that anyone is claiming that there aren't tradeoffs. You seem to agree that there are times when licensing provides a benefit to society that outweighs the cost of generalization. I don't think it's silly to suggest that companies aren't always in the best position to weigh their own costs against the larger benefits to society.