What challenge did Bill Gates describe about enforcing software copyrights in China?

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In 1998, Bill Gates highlighted a significant challenge regarding software copyright enforcement in China: the widespread lack of payment for software despite high sales volumes of personal computers.

Rather than focusing on immediate legal enforcement, Gates acknowledged that users in China were not paying for software. He expressed a strategic perspective, noting that as long as users were going to "steal" the software, he preferred that they use Microsoft Corporation products. His goal was for users to become "addicted" to the software, with the expectation that the company would eventually find a way to monetize that user base in the future.1