I have a whole collection of boxes featuring anti-piracy stuff: https://fabiensanglard.net/happy/index.html

The sentence "This created an only-too-familiar situation where illegitimate users enjoyed a better experience than paying customers." is a direct reference to these system which annoyed people who actually paid for their game!

Siemens for some software uses a license system that uses "secret" files stored on "dongle" that is just USB stick, and software that manages copying to hard drive etc.

I have heard of several cases where Siemens technicians and support staff would use a well-known "crack" (actually more of a keygen combined with license file manager) or guide customers how to obtain and use it...

Remember, legally (usually), the really important part is the proof of contract and payment, not exact way the software was activated