A note on strategic piracy in the economics of software: an explanation by learning costs
نویسنده
چکیده
We explain strategic piracy in the software industry as a result of the presence of learning costs in the context of intertemporal price discrimination. First, piracy can be a means to incite consumers to invest in human capital, which increases their propensity to pay and enables the firm to raise prices. Second, the presence of piracy induces a more efficient intertemporal price discrimination.
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