If something is easier to get for free than it is to buy, that’s a very strong disincentive to purchasing. This is especially true in many countries outside the US—there are no equivalents to sites like Netflix, and the iTunes store just became available to selected countries outside the US earlier this year. A similar problem exists with the regional coding system for DVDs. If, for example, the only way I can purchase a DVD is to buy one that is from another region, the DVD will not work in my region-specific hard drive or DVD player. I can, however, download a region-free version of the movie for free. The choice seems kind of obvious.