[wahern]

There doesn't have to be a monopoly--competitiveness isn't binary. Intel doesn't have a monopoly in x86, and yet Intel uses firmware to cripple their chips (e.g. certain instruction sets disabled on low-end SKUs) while AMD doesn't. But does anybody really think that the x86 market is as competitive as, say, shampoo; or that Intel's price and product discrimination is resulting in lower prices at the low-end than would otherwise happen?

Maybe, but it's not immediately clear. And in any event it would be foolish to take Intel at their word that their strategy results in lower prices and/or better products, regardless of their sincerity.

And FWIW I'm not claiming that John Deere should be prohibited from doing what they're doing technologically, not unless it rises to an anti-trust violation. However, I do oppose the abuse and extension of copyright to prevent reverse engineering and prevent owners from modifying their machines. Even if John Deere's strategy is resulting in lower prices at the low-end, I'm not prepared to sacrifice the ability more generally (in this and other markets) for reverse-engineering competitors to sell their own firmware. There are many other reasons beyond the threat of copyright lawsuits why customers wouldn't want to run a machine with adulterated firmware, so even if a robust reverse engineering market resulted in higher prices for these particular tractors, it'll likely only be marginally so. I don't think it's worth cutting-off potential competition at the knees for whatever gain John Deere is claiming. History has shown that such policies, writ large, are extremely detrimental.