The question then becomes, can a user hire any developer for a fix, rather than being at the mercy of the original vendor? This right not only keeps hourly rate

The question then becomes, can a user hire any developer for a fix, rather than being at the mercy of the original vendor? This right not only keeps hourly rates more reasonable, but also takes away the vendor's incentive to use bad designs that lead to customer lock-in. For a perhaps overused metaphor, I wouldn't buy a car with the hood welded shut.