The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 has much in common with the 18th Amendment. It attempts to enforce an absolute value advantage where none exists and eventually prohibits mutually beneficial exchanges.
All those who have lined up on the side of Microsoft will soon discover that they are fighting battles they can never win. So they stoop to creating the BSA, influencing politicians and undermining whoever they perceive as their enemies.
Dell, HP, Gateway, Sony, IBM and the rest of Microsoft’s partners will find themselves painted with the same brush. You cannot enforce the DMCA any more than you can force people to buy American cars. Take a hint from General Motors: The word eventually gets out that you have inferior products and the price isn’t right. Microsoft’s OEM partners will become the buggy whip manufacturers of the 21st Century.
Trying to enforce your laws will eventually turn out like trying to keep illegal immigrants out of the country. You can only devote so many resources to the problem. The problem will eventually overwhelm you.
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