I agree there's more nuance to this. Your original application of Kant's imperative is wrong, but it's not a total loss either - I feel it could be rescued with a more precise line of argument.

I particularly like the bit from your point 2. here:

> a creator operating under the assumption of those laws being followed loses out on revenue when those laws are broken

I'm not 100% certain - I'm trying to think this through now - but I feel that this is an ethics issue, related to honesty and fairness.