This feels like an overreaction to unofficial distribution of their premium products (see: GPL marketplaces). I’m surprised the topic wasn’t addressed in the article since it’s a wildly rampant problem in the premium WordPress product space.

I’m not saying I agree with the approach, but speaking as someone who spent 5 years building premium WordPress products, I can certainly empathize with why MemberPress might feel like they need to go down this path to protect their business.