I think we're heading in a different direction: products are not owned by the customer, but are owned by the company. You will pay a monthly fee, and it's the company's responsibility to keep the product from failing.

A slightly different thing is happening with Apple. When you bought your phone, you didn't receive full ownership. Instead, you bought a seat in a theater. Apple's incentive is to keep the phone working so they can sell you more apps/movies/songs.