Games With Jobs has an interesting piece on BioShock and the copy protection.

Instead of simply outright disagreeing with the copy protection they discuss the various reasons for it, including the fact the copy protection is actually working

The publisher seems to have taken a “better to ask for forgiveness” approach and gradually given the user back some measure of control over their own software. The precedent will remain, however. A big budget, single-player PC game has required activation and by all accounts, it’s working. The game is flying off shelves, the reviews are stellar and reports of Starforce levels of computer issues have been minimal so far.