>This argument falls apart when you recognize that people that pirate weren't going to pay anyways. There is a spectrum. Some people will never pay (e.g. teena

>This argument falls apart when you recognize that people that pirate weren't going to pay anyways. There is a spectrum. Some people will never pay (e.g. teenagers, who don't have credit cards). Some people will always pay. A lot of people (most?) are in between. They will use a pirate copy if it is easy and they think can get away with it, otherwise they will pay. So some level of protection is important. But you shouldn't do anything that makes life more difficult for the people that are prepared to pay.