The ARE no special exceptions for them, make them play by the rules that are already in place. Don't listen to what they have to say about software piracy and all that garbage. When the preventative measure to stop it give them more power than the damage they were being dealt, that's power that they don't need to have. I'm not knowledgeable in that area. There is no reason to make that characerization that benefits the customer in any way, shape, or form.
Licenses can expire or be granted on very stringent requirements.
A sale guarantees the customer certain privledges, like the ability to use that software on a different system if they upgrade, or even if they have the same system and swap in different parts. CD copies of the software are no longer given out free with the purchase of your system. I am not versed enough in law to speak on the legal concerns this would have, but the impact that would have on my everday life is enough for me, an average citizen to take time out of my day to write this. Music, books, etc can all be copied very easily, people don't do it enough to merit some mass-market punishment, and the same is true for software. Just because the software industry says they need it doesn't mean that they do.