... over the introduction of such a DRM system to their computers. I've read numerous incidents where people have to constantly restart their game, uninstall the games to get another program running, etc...
Also it seems EA is well aware of the impart of SecuROM on their customers. As seen in the support section::
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QUESTION
Do you have information on SecuROM?
Answer
We have received numerous incidents regarding issues pertaining to the SecuROM anti-piracy software, and have a 24/7 SecuROM Customer Support team to help our players resolve these potential issues.
Over the past year, EA diligently evaluated SecuROM against many other copy protection programs, and as a result of that evaluation chose to use SecuROM in its entire line of PC products. Need For Speed, Medal of Honor, Command & Conquer, The Sims...all of these key EA franchises utilize SecuROM.
In recent collaboration with Sony DADC, the makers of SecuROM, we have created a Frequently Asked Questions section to address the questions that have been raised due to recent events regarding SecuROM:
* What is SecuROM?
* Is SecuROM actually loaded onto my computer?
* How does SecuROM interact with the Internet?
* Is this software spying on me?
* What is a registry key, and what is the SecuROM entry in the registry?
...... "
A class-action lawsuit has been filed against EA over the SecuROM DRM mechanism built into the Spore game.
The suit (PDF here), file by Melissa Thomas, is aimed squarely at EA’s decision to use SecuROM for anti-piracy purposes.
I’ve had a quick look through the suit and I don’t think that it stands a chance. Why? Well …
- Bogus claims, such as:
“Once installed, it [SecuROM] become a permanent part of the consumer’s software portfolio. Even if the consumer uninstalls Spore, and entirely deletes it from their computer, SecuROM remains a fixture in their computer unless and until the consumer completely wipes their hard drive through reformatting or replacement of the drive.”
If you want to remove SecuROM, there’s an uninstaller available from the SecuROM website. - The suit relies far too much on comments from the Amazon.com web page for Spore. While there are plenty of claims that Spore wreaks havoc on PCs to choose from, it’s going to be hard to prove that any of this damage is down to Spore or the SecuROM DRM.
The words “spyware” and “virus” are used to describe SecuROM, despite no antivirus program recognizing it as such.
In the middle of the spurious claims are some valid ones. For example, EA doesn’t make it clear that Spore installs SecuROM onto PCs, and nowhere does EA give help and advice to people wanting to rid their system of DRM.
I can’t see this suit going far.
Thoughts?
