Reverse engineering of competitor’s software cost company big
This is one of of the biggest developments in the software industry ever because it incentivizes innovation (good for innovators, bad for copycats).  It also fills part of the void left by a broken patent system.  We all know many software companies are ripping off other companies ideas on a regular basis.  In many cases it&#x27;s big incumbents taking ideas from upstarts competing with them (example:  Facebook via Instagram ripping off stories from Snap).<p>This decision should allow more competition from innovative newcomers and higher prices in software generally.  Right now software is priced artificially low because very few vendors have any pricing power... because competitors can just rip off what they are doing.  If that&#x27;s not as easy companies with innovative ideas protected by strong ToS should be able to compete more aggressively and price their products much higher.<p>I believe you&#x27;re going to see many companies put all their content behind an &quot;agree&quot; button.<p>This shift should also make acquisition prices go WAY up since companies will have to be priced more by the opportunity&#x2F;IP rather than their replacement cost.<p>This is a big deal.