Even though it is technically allowed in their EULA - EA is trying their hardest to limit/prohibit the resale of Spore.

Ars goes in depth into several other court cases of this nature - ranging from promo CDs, WoW account selling, to even AutoCAD.

Spore is drawing far too much negative publicity right now- and EA should really be pushing damage control more than anything else, but the more and more facts that come to light about their restrictions and shady business practices - the more and more gamers are going to be turned off.

While much of the buzz about Spore has revolved around the DRM and now the lawsuit, what's important to remember is that the DRM isn't in place just to "fight" pirates. No, the activation limit and the one-account system are also strong deterrents against selling your copy of the game; EA would much rather everyone bought it instead of taking part in a second-hand market. As one Ars reader found out, buying the game used may be a risky proposition. The question is open: is EA breaking the law?

According to the buyer, his copy of the game was purchased from "a crotchety old redneck," but the buyer didn't get the necessary information needed to get into the game's main account, and thus couldn't play. A call to customer support was no help; sellers have to give the purchaser the account name and password, almost like a World of Warcraft account. Unless buyers get that information from the person or store they get the used game from, nothing can be done. EA will not let you open another account.

Deathsythe via arstechnica.com »