be held accountable!' as an argument. I do think that a lot of this can be attributed to ignorance rather than malice on Deere's part, though (Hanlon's razor).
Actually, this argument is very common and _very_ deliberate. Without this type of system, these companies cannot conduct totalitarian control over their users and competition. Without it they could not lock us in or out of their technology black boxes. Without, it would be devastating to their profiteering agenda's. Take a look at what non-free software companies and their CEO's/founders/lawyers say and do. These are not stupid people. Obviously, Free Software is a direct threat to their agenda. They need to convince everyone that the law should protect their interests. The King and Court relies on an oligarchy or monarchy to maintain power and squash other power systems.