| (Pages: 1, 2) | |
News Room Contributor  Posts: 8020 Joined: 12 Nov 2002     | |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 1809 Joined: 8 Apr 2008    | Ha, Wake-up call? EA has had plenty of wake-up calls, and they've all fallen on deaf ears. EA continues to bury itself, and it won't be long before their logo would be more appropriately accompanied by the Funeral March. |
Muckraker  Posts: 237 Joined: 24 Sep 2008     | EA Sports - It's in the game! |
Time Lord  Posts: 9934 Joined: 13 Feb 2008     | *gets out world's smallest violin* Rule of thumb : If you're not going to listen to your customer base, have a quick think about the law. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 1207 Joined: 17 Oct 2008     | I think i stand for the community in saying its about time EA was knocked down a few pegs |
Pulitzer Laureate  Posts: 907 Joined: 15 Jun 2008     | I hope EA get's smacked down and as part of the settlement has to remove the DRM from everyone who downloaded the game. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 1011 Joined: 1 Dec 2007    |
You know that thing you did as a kid where you dress up as superman or spiderman or the Hulk, and pretended to beat up bad guys? Ya, that violates DC and Marvel's IP. |
SUSPENDED  Posts: 6071 Joined: 25 Jan 2008    | Thank you Malygris, thank you very VERY much for bringing this one to my attention. I was actually going to buy Bon Voyage some time around boxing day, now I'm not so sure. Mind you, haven't had DRM problems (yet...) with Sims2 expansions that were both pre- and post-BonVoyage, but as one of those "I only want it for collector's sake" purchases, it may be better safe than sorry. And Fuck You EA. May some demented psychotic break into the homes of any/all EA employees and CEOs, and sodomize them first with a red-hot branding iron, then follow it up with a spiked dildo coverered in lemon juice, salt, and bleach. User was suspended for: MMOG Teaches Kids About Traffic Safety. (3 days) |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 3623 Joined: 3 Apr 2008    |
Wanna go halfs on an Anarchist's Cookbook? Oh.. And If you are going to do that stuff Khell. Get Labyrinth. She has experience in that department |
On the Record  Posts: 6656 Joined: 22 Aug 2008    | Somehow, I'm not surprised. If EA loses either of these cases it'll hurt them a lot, not only for losing the case but also for the precedents it'll set. My guess is they'll plead with the plaintiffs to settle out of court to not legally fuck themselves over, even if it costs a bundle. Lets hope that said plaintiffs don't settle, ey? |
Paperboy  Posts: 25 Joined: 9 May 2008    | <nelson>HAAAA-ha!</nelson> |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 3456 Joined: 20 Aug 2008   | An EA executive dies a thousand deaths, a brave man but one. When are companies going to realize that the amount of resources they put into DRM and the lost goodwill is a value greater than the value of actual property lost to piracy? If I were an EA shareholder (and if I could stay away from high ledges after seeing EA's share price these days), I'd file a lawsuit against the company's upper management for conduct detrimental to the stockholders. Their entire upper management, from CEO John Racketeero or whatever his name is to the board of directors who should be stopping this crap, need to go. It'd be like installing a million-dollar security system worthy of the Hope Diamond by someone who lived in a trailer park and had nothing but a few NASCAR souvenirs and a dog to protect. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 1084 Joined: 3 Apr 2008  | Huzzah, a fitting punishment |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 3300 Joined: 10 Oct 2008    | Mmm, that is surprising, NOT! |
Paperboy  Posts: 25 Joined: 14 Aug 2008  | How do we get in on these lawsuits? How many of us got Creature Creator? We all got the damn DRM software infesting our PCs? I'd love to join in on a class action suit against EA. I didn't buy SPORE (as I had really REALLY wanted to for a long while) and I won't buy any EA games as long as they continue to punish the end user for buying their products! |
Press Junketeer  Posts: 411 Joined: 8 Jun 2008    | This is why I don't buy any EA games on PC. The day they are somehow able to sneak DRM into their console releases is the day I will stop buying their console games, as well. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 4143 Joined: 6 Sep 2008   | Holy shit what? I DL'd creature creator. And I DID have to some time after format C: and reinstall windows to fix perpertual bugs that I THOUGHT were a virus because I downloaded a naughty video codec. Who do I contact about this? Are they private or class action? If nothing else, is there any sort of moral support I can lend these people, or sign a petition, or anything they can use in their suit? Also, man EA has been getting hit alot lately. I guess consumers actually DO exercise a power when they are enraged enmasse. Power to the people! |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 1780 Joined: 29 Dec 2007    | If these are class action, does that mean that anyone who downloaded/bought those games can get in on the fun? Because I would love the chance to make some money off of EA's brilliant idea to include SecuROM with their products. Also, wasn't there one of these for the full version of Spore? If so, what happened there? |
Gone Gonzo Posts: 4143 Joined: 6 Sep 2008 |
In the full Spore version, EA was technically within it's rights since it was a product to be purchased and you were informed ahead of time before install. In this case however it was free downloadable content, and no warning was provided. |
On the Record  Posts: 6205 Joined: 10 Mar 2008   | Call me a pessimist, but this won't change anything. But, oh, how I would love to be wrong on that. |
Anonymous Source Posts: 5 Joined: 11 Nov 2008   | This page has the lawsuits laid out (there are four, actually, one for Mass Effect PC also), as well as law firm contact info: http://www.reclaimyourgame.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=17&Itemid=57 |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 3664 Joined: 21 Jan 2008   | Good, lets hope that precedent is set by these cases, and DRM (intrusive DRM that is installed without prior warning) will be removed. Unfortunately, this still means that companies can use harmful DRM like SecuRom, just having to tell people about it beforehand. |
Pulitzer Laureate Posts: 953 Joined: 12 Apr 2008  |
Change any of what? EA is losing a ton of money over SecuRom and are slowly realizing it. Lawsuits that they will lose, SecuRom royalty fees to Sony, loss of fan base/loyalty... All of this comes back. They may not change their tude, but stocks show that consumers aren't happy. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 2641 Joined: 20 Jul 2008    |
Ahahaha, I see what you did there. That is quite good. If only if it weren't so true :( |
SUSPENDED Posts: 6071 Joined: 25 Jan 2008 |
Something like two days just after release, Spore became the most pirated game in history. So it works real well right? User was suspended for: MMOG Teaches Kids About Traffic Safety. (3 days) |
BANNED  Posts: 3486 Joined: 25 Aug 2008  | I know, after this whole DRM nonsense was first announced, people started clammering to pirate Spore. EA managed to achieve levels of royal fuck-uppery, as in Spore was actually pirated many more times than it would have been if they hadn't put in DRM. People wanted to pirate it, just to laugh in EA's well stuffed, lard faces. It took barely hours for people to crack the thing, then there was an internet fun festival, in which people just pirated the game, to laugh at EA. I hope whoever took that decision to include the DRM, has either died, or at the very least had the word "dunce" painted in massive letters on his forehead. I actually think that piracy is a crime, I admit not a very serious one, but people are entitled to the money they should make from games, it is entirely unreasonable to say "We want free stuff!", but when EA took the desicion to put in such extreme security measures, they condemned themselves forever. The security ensured that the game would be pirated far more, than if they had just left it alone. User was banned for: The Second Annual Escapist Election: Part 1: Presidential Primaries. (Permanent) |
Muckraker  Posts: 343 Joined: 7 Nov 2008  | Lololol - I think EA deserve it. The fact that they released Spore and its security was... well... there was not really any. Free to pirate by all basically - funny stuff :D |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 1356 Joined: 27 Jul 2008 | Another impending Crusader Strike to EA's desecrated wallet. Shit like SecuROM needs to be banned. |
On the Record  Posts: 5484 Joined: 13 Aug 2008  | Good. I'll give you, some DRM is necessary for any money to be made, but with the extent EA has been taking it recently, if someone doesn't stop them they'll only get worse. Who knows, maybe eventually they'll publish DRM that makes it so you can't even install the game on a single computer. You jsut get to own the disc. |
BANNED Posts: 3486 Joined: 25 Aug 2008 |
That is becoming a severe possibility, if not a probability. User was banned for: The Second Annual Escapist Election: Part 1: Presidential Primaries. (Permanent) |
Paperboy  Posts: 12 Joined: 25 Sep 2008   | and to think I actually once wanted to work for EA... glad I dodged that bullet. EA is paranoid. that's pretty much the only explanation for why they're going nuts trying to secure every game they sell. Spore and Mass Effect both require validation every ten days, and now all this crap with SecuROM and whatnot... like a couple of you guys have said before, they're just shooting themselves in the foot with all of this. with each new "security measure", there's just going to be a plethora of new lawsuits and hackers who try and get around the security lining up outside EA headquarters. This won't stop EA though. they'll just find ways to justify the security to get around the lawsuits, and then they're just going to add even more security to the games to keep people from pirating. it wouldn't surprise me in the least to find out tomorrow morning that the next big EA game requires credit card validation every time you so much as look at the icon on your desktop. and its not like EA's games are even WORTH the security half the time. Spore and Mass Effect were both alright, but those are literally the cream of the crop when it comes to the overall picture, and they're nowhere near the kind of caliber that would justify everything EA has put behind them. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 2770 Joined: 13 Feb 2008  | You know what? SecuROM and DRM are like STDs. They're hard to spot early on, difficult to get rid of, screw you over, and you get very upset at the person who gave them to you. |
On the Record Posts: 5484 Joined: 13 Aug 2008 |
Which is why we need to stop it. What about the good old days, when games were sold on floppy disks in plastic bags? And now I feel old again. ARGH! I'M NOT EVEN OLD! |
BANNED Posts: 3486 Joined: 25 Aug 2008 |
... That is one of the most perfect analogies I have ever heard. User was banned for: The Second Annual Escapist Election: Part 1: Presidential Primaries. (Permanent) |
Infamous Scribbler  Posts: 575 Joined: 21 Jun 2008   | This is exactly why I'm staying away from EA. It's also a shame, they won't be getting a sale out of me for Red Alert 3. |
| (Pages: 1, 2) | |
Reply to Thread
|
|
Not registered? Sign up for a free account! |
EA Hit With Two New SecuROM Lawsuits
EA has been hit with two new class action lawsuits focusing on the company's ongoing use of the controversial SecuROM DRM software.
The first suit, actually filed on October 14, alleges that the Spore Creature Creator Free Trial Edition "secretly installed a Digital Rights Management software program" on the computers of everyone who installed the demo. "The inclusion of undisclosed, secretly installed DRM protection measures with a program that was freely distributed constitutes a major violation of computer owners' absolute right to control what does and what does not get loaded onto their computers, and how their computers shall be used," the suit says.
The lawsuit claims that EA has engaged in "deceptive and unlawful conduct in designing, marketing, distributing a computer game demo that contains undisclosed and unconsented to Digital Rights Management technology," and seeks restitution including (but certainly not limited to) "actual damages, statutory damages, punitive or treble damages," along with all "unlawful or illegal profits" generated as a result of EA's deceptive conduct.
The second lawsuit, filed on October 27, similarly claims that The Sims 2: Bon Voyage expansion pack installed SecuROM on the plaintiff's computer, without warning or consent and without offering an option to remove the software once it's installed. Following the installation of the expansion, the plaintiff began experiencing computer problems: Sims 2 content she had previously backed up to CD could no longer be read, and she could no longer access her USB flash drive or iPod, both of which were reported by her PC as being empty.
The suit claims that this installation "violates key consumer principles set for by the Federal Trade Commission," and also seeks damages and restitution, as well as an order "enjoining EA from the further sale of games bundled with SecuROM unless accompanied by an adequate disclosure and reasonable way to uninstall SecuROM."
Whether or not these suits have any hope of succeeding is a question for the lawyers (and if you're a lawyer, feel free to let us know what you think) but if nothing else they're evidence of the growing intolerance for intrusive copy protection schemes like those EA seems so enamored with. With luck, even if they're quickly dismissed the lawsuits will serve as a wake-up call for executives who have thus far handled the company's DRM efforts with a shocking degree of indifference and ineptitude. I don't particularly care about SecuROM - I firmly believe that companies have the right to protect their intellectual property as they see fit, and to drive themselves out of business in the process - but EA's strategy of slipping it in the back door while pretending nobody notices just isn't working for anyone.
Aspiring (or real) legal beagles can check out the two lawsuits here and here. (PDF format)
Source: GamePolitics
Permalink