----- Original Message -----
From: "Andy [YaYa]" <
[email protected]>
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.windows.vista.games
Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2007 11:07 PM
Subject: Re: Problem with VISTA regarding PC DVD Games
"illegal implementation"? How is putting copy protection onto your game CD
illegal? Geez people get over it.
This is probably not the place for this discussion, so I'll point you in the
direction of 2K's official forum (
http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/).
But briefly, in British law it is illegal to to make any change to the
contents of a computer without the knowledge and authorisation of the
computer's owner. In the case of Bioshock, SecuROM is installed without
mention on either the packaging or in the EULA (or indeed anywhere else),
and once installed SecuROM resists all attempts to remove it. This is, I'm
told, a criminal offence under section iii of the Computer Misuse Act 1990
(and I believe there are similar laws in the rest of Europe).
In 2004 there was a Parliamentary report looking at areas in which the
Computer Misuse Act needed updating, and the 'unauthorised changes' rule was
one of those discussed. Paragraph 46 is interesting, particularly the last
line:
"Microsoft wanted an exception made to the s3 CMA offence of unauthorised
alteration of data where the change was made by a software supplier and the
change was done on the basis of informed consent, albeit on an “ opt-outâ€
basis. Since software companies form a contract with their customers we are
unable to understand why this issue cannot be addressed within that
contract. We do not agree that software suppliers should be given carte
blanche to alter end-user systems without consent."
One of the reasons people are having so many problems after installing
Bioshock is because they are unaware that an *unanounced and hidden* third
party application is deciding what software it is going to permit to run and
what it's going to block.
I don't have a problem with copy protection, and realise that it's a
necessary evil that's going to be around in one form or another for a while
yet. But games publishers need to respect consumer rights and the laws of
the countries where their products will be sold.
I believe it's time to boycott all games protected by SecuROM. The
StarForce boycott appears to have had an effect, and the latest StarForce
protection system seems to be far more benign than previous incarnations -
and in fact automatically removes itself and all its drivers once the
application it's protecting has been uninstalled. A similar boycott may
encourage Sony DADC to take another look at the direction they are taking
with SecuROM.
