GamePolitics has learnt that two new class-action lawsuits have been filed against the publishing giant, one for ”secretly installed DRM protection measures”.
Both have been filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, and target EA’s latest choices of SecuROM DRM protection methods. Good luck little people.
The first case is about SecuROM getting installed with the Spore Creature Creator Free Trial Edition. A matter which Pennsylvania man, Richard Eldridge cites as ”deceptive and unlawful.”
Here’s the official piece:
”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…”
He argues that SecuROM ”cannot be completely uninstalled. Once installed it becomes a permanent part of the consumer’s software portfolio…”
”EA’s EULA for Spore Creature Creator Free Trial Edition makes utterly no mention of any Technical Protection Measures, DRM technology, or SecuROM whatsoever…”
As for the second lawsuit, we turn to Missouri’s Dianna Cortez who describes herself as ”an avid Sims player,” makes similar noise about SecuROM contained in The Sims 2: Bon Voyage.
”After installing Bon Voyage, Ms. Cortez began having problems with her computer. She had previously made backup Sims 2 game content on CDs, but her computer’s disc drive would no longer recognize that content, reporting the CDs as empty. She could not access files that were saved on her USB flash drive or iPod, either…”
Cortez decries all this as a bunch of ”unfair business practices” and well as being ”immoral, unethical, oppressive” and even ”unscrupulous…”
The videogames industry should have its own televised ‘People’s Court’ by now…
Source: GamePolitics
