Software defies economics. It can be replicated almost infinitely at almost no cost. When software companies sold software one package at a time in the 90s anti-piracy was a big deal because it was very simple for any given person to “copy a floppy” and receive the full package of software from another individual without the company knowing or being involved. It was like borrowing a rake from a neighbor, but the neighbor got to keep his rake as well.

Because of this, software companies decided instead to treat software as a service rather than as a product. In the 2010s many software companies shifted to the subscription model where instead of selling software one package at a time, the service of the software would be available to rent while the company guarded the propriety aspects of their software. This was like the company owning the rake and both you and your neighbor needed to pay the company to borrow the rake.

Now software can be reverse-engineered without the source-code. Now if you rent the rake from the company, you can keep a copy of it and freely distribute it without the company being involved or aware. I’m not sure how software companies will reckon with this advancement.