Actually, its likely to retain the option of legal action against illegal copy if they so choose.
As a developer for a small game development group we were having a similar discussion related to DRM. In my opinion it is a waste because once it has been cracked the crack is available to everyone who downloads it. However, it was mentioned that based on current law practices it may be needed to retain the ownership of the product.
I believe it falls under the same concept as trademarks. If you register a trademark it is your duty to ensure no-one uses it without your permission. If they do you and you know about it, you must send a notice to them to stop further use of the mark. You may not really care that they are using it, but if you don't notify them you are setting yourself up to lose your trademark.
With software, if you do not put DRM on it, then you have not made the effort to protect your IP it risks becoming more or less public domain. Sure the source is copy protected, but does the end product fall in this category? By putting some form of DRM in place, you can claim to be making an effort to curb free distribution of your product and retain that legal ownership as well as the option to prosecute where needed.
I am certainly not a lawyer though so take this for what its worth.
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Actually, its likely to retain the option of legal action against illegal copy if they so choose. As a developer for a small game development group we were having a similar discussion related to DRM. In my opinion it is a waste because once it has been cracked the crack is available to everyone who downloads it. However, it was mentioned that based on current law practices it may be needed to retain the ownership of the product. I believe it falls under the same concept as trademarks. If you register a trademark it is your duty to ensure no-one uses it without your permission. If they do you and you know about it, you must send a notice to them to stop further use of the mark. You may not really care that they are using it, but if you don't notify them you are setting yourself up to lose your trademark. With software, if you do not put DRM on it, then you have not made the effort to protect your IP it risks becoming more or less public domain. Sure the source is copy protected, but does the end product fall in this category? By putting some form of DRM in place, you can claim to be making an effort to curb free distribution of your product and retain that legal ownership as well as the option to prosecute where needed. I am certainly not a lawyer though so take this for what its worth.