This article on GigaOM got me thinking about how little we hear about software piracy these days. SaaS essentially expires all issues of piracy: vendors are no longer selling pieces of IP on a shiny disc, but sell the proper execution of their software. On top of that, users don’t even have physical possession of the IP. I’d venture to guess that software piracy looses all relevance within 5 years.

Now the real trick is, could this pattern be replicated in the media industry? Can legit-IP be sold with such superior value-added-services that the experience of consuming the raw IP itself pales in comparison to the full suite?