The recent Economist article, Look for the silver lining, is mostly main stream rubbish.  The tag line “Piracy is a bad thing. But sometimes companies can turn it to their advantage” is typical of the rest of the article. The article provides some weak examples of how businesses can use piracy to capture new markets, such as how allowing piracy of Windows in China is beneficial to prevent Linux from gaining the market, or buying out a competitor who improves your shoes with a better logo. These are valid but weak uses of piracy. The only really strong example of a new use is for music companies to monitor P2P traffic to find new markets.  The benefits of sharing reaches far beyond reinforcing old business models and and free market research.  The benefits include free publicity, cost shifting to users, direct compensation to artists, and free R&D.

The major problem with the article can be seen in the second and third to last sentences:

“Most of the time, companies will decide to combat piracy of their products by sending in the lawyers with all guns blazing. And most of the time that is the right thing to do.”

As long as lawyers are the primary weapon against innovation, sharing and remixing the old guard will continue to alienate digital natives. Lawyers should be a weapon of last resort used only when there is no other option and when users will view your actions as just. Learn to Use Pirates not Sue Pirates!

At least they end on a better note:

“But before they rush into action companies should check to see if there is a way for them to turn piracy to their advantage.”

2.5 out of 5 stars. Which is better then the -1 I would usually give an article from the Economist.

Best copy fighting quote from the article:
“Merchant and pirate were for a long period one and the same person. Even today mercantile morality is really nothing but a refinement of piratical morality” wrote Friedrich Nietzsche (Maxims?)