[pdkl95]

If you bought a physical tool that I manufactured. Your need the tool to do your work and switching to something else would be expensive in both time and money due to interoperability problems and lost time.

Do you care if I stand behind you taking notes about how you use the tool in your work? I promise I won't write down your name in my notes. I just want to know how you use my tool in your work. For research purposes. It's not a "violation of privacy"; I wouldn't take notes on what you're working on - I just want to know exactly how you use my tool in your work. I'll even be careful to not get in your way ("most" of the time). I just want to know how you use my tool so I can make it better.

If I did this to you without explicit prior-authorization from you (such as a contract describing what I'm authorized to do), would you allow it? Would you order me to get off your property? Would you call the police to have me arrested for trespassing and possibly corporate espionage?

Making tools out of software instead of steel doesn't grant permission to using someone's property without their explicit permission. Also, unauthorized use of private property is still unauthorized even if your goals are useful. Other companies doing the same bad behavior doesn't justify that behavior; trespassing is still trespassing even when a lot of people are doing it.