I'm not convinced that is always the case... there will always be downward pressure to compete, as long as there is competition. Copyright/Patent laws have been extended so far that it's become difficult or impossible to compete fairly, so black and grey markets become more viable as competition.
At one Dutch internet marketplace, you still see people selling Garmin maps (topos) which are clearly copies. They even have the gut to say 'one topo for 25 Euro, two topos for 40 Euro'. Nobody seems to care.
As someone who buys them legally, I am quite appalled these businesses (since the people who purchase them legally are paying higher prices to compensate the profits of these crooks).