Spore SecuROM copy protection system draws lawsuit

Despite Electronic Arts' good-faith effort last week to relax copyright restrictions in Spore, gamers aren't buying it — the digital constraint tactic, that is. The game, on the other hand, is selling faster than you can evolve a virtual amoeba.

Spore has already sold a million copies since hitting stores earlier this month, but critics of the game's digital rights management have been vehement, bringing their protests to Amazon.com reviews, message boards, blogs and now federal court.

On Monday, just three days after EA apologized for the DRM controversy and increased the number of computers each game could be activated on (from three to five), a lawsuit seeking class-action status was brought against the company in the U.S. District Court for Northern California.

The case targets SecuROM, a DRM technology meant to prevent PC game piracy. Spore installs the program on users' computers without their explicit knowledge and cannot be easily removed, according to the 36-page document (PDF download) filed by Melissa Thomas and law firm KamberEdelson. In trying to protect its own intellectual property, EA compromises the consumer's own property — their computers, said Scott Kamber, the firm's managing member. EA says it doesn't comment on matters of pending litigation.

Similarities will no doubt be drawn between this and the Sony BMG rootkit case, in which the Federal Trade Commission ruled last year that the company couldn't install hidden software on users' computers without their permission. KamberEdelson, which commonly covers class-action technology cases, is the same firm that led the rootkit suit. And perhaps more ironically, the SecuROM software that EA uses with Spore was developed by Sony.

KamberEdelson also won a 2006 suit against game developer UbiSoft for its invasive StarForce PC copy-protection program. "These corporate executives don't see anything wrong with putting this uninstallable program on people's computers," Kamber said.

-- Mark Milian

Spore image by Electronic Arts

Comments

[S]

So is it legal for me to buy the game then install the pirated version?

[Krychek]

I *was* going to buy the new FIFA 09 until I started seeing all these complaints about Securcom and how it was going to install something on my machine I might not ever be able to get rid of. Also, that any 5 changes to my system could be construed by their software as being a potential installation on a new machine and the game might just stop working because I added a harddrive or a new video card. That's just ridiculous.

I guess I'm stuck trying to play my FIFA 08 that keeps crashing after every other game. Too bad too since I heard 09 was a much better version than 08.

[Lisa aka Calipip4]

There are now 4 Class Action lawsuits against EA for the use of SecuROM on their game disc's.
1. Spore
2. Mass Effect
3. Spore Creature Creator
4. Spore, Sims 2 expansion packs, Need for Speed, Medal of Honor, and Command and Conquer

You can read all about them from here, at the "Reclaim Your Game" site
http://www.reclaimyourgame.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=17&Itemid=57 "The People Vs. SecuROM"

[TH]

The reason SPORE is selling so well, is that the majority of spore purchasers don't even know what DRM is.

They will only get an idea if the situation arises that tells them they have reached their activation limit or, for some reason, the activation servers are down or they have no internet access, so they can't activate and play their own game that they purchased legally.

When will these large games companies realize that DRM doesn't inconvenience the pirate, but only pisses off their own faithful law abiding customer.

Lawsuits like this need to be done more frequently in order to wipe out the growing extreme ignorance and incredible arragance from companies like SONY and EA.

[Rasicar]

My thoughts on the matter are thus:

You want to make me check in with your servers to verify that my game is legit - no problem. I support that, which is why I have no problems with the Steam service Valve uses.

If you want to allow me only three installations before i need to complain to tech support... i'm kinda iffy on this. I don't upgrade my machine much and I have a working backup of my entire system.

My concerns arise when you put something on my machine that does not remove itself when I remove the game. If this is indeed true, and more importantly that you knew that it worked this way when you designed it, then you are effectively vandalizing my personal properly whether I permitted you to install it or not. I permitted you to install in under the pretenses that it would remove itself when I told it to. If it stands to be true that you can not remove it and it will remove the administrators permission levels needed to delete it from the registry, then that is, in my opinion, a criminal act.

[Lolwtf]

@Fantasticsid

You have got to be the biggest nerd. "Piracy shouldn't be used to refer to "non mariners" etc etc "idiotic proportions" <-- correct.

The Piracy has to do with ripping off goods so is completely accurate and not to be taken literally its not as if they download torrents in a pirate hat, you complete moron.

[Bloodangel]

I heard about the game's killer DRM before I purchased it but it was so long ago that I forgot about it. I really enjoy the game but the DRM really IS bogus. Copy-protection is pointless. There are better hackers out there than there are copy-protection developers. Software pirates are a minority at best. Since the game is quasi-online anyway, why not just employ the same type of dealio as World of Warcraft? You purchase the software. The software has a key that lets you create an account that becomes set in stone (unless you abuse it of course, lol). You then log into that account from ANY computer with the software on it and BAM, you is playing WoW. I've had to re-install World of Warcraft several times. Blizzard Entertainment is in the business of making money. EA apparently is not. Happy customers are paying customers. Because of the DRM, I am not likely going to buy the new parts pack, despite it's apparent awesomeness.