Game Activation!!

Hi, i brought football manager 2012 from ebay but its already been activated, is there a way to install it again or do i need a new activation key?? please help!!

No, return it and demand a refund.

I would also report the seller to Ebay.

Confirming what Cougar said- the game cannot be sold second hand as the activation is linked to the original steam account. Contact eBay and get a refund.

I had the same with Call of Duty Black ops and managed to get a refund of the game and postage as well.

Confirming what Cougar said- the game cannot be sold second hand as the activation is linked to the original steam account. Contact eBay and get a refund.

Actually it can. Technically either Steam or SEGA/SI are violating the law by preventing the game's use.

http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2012-07/cp120094en.pdf

Where the copyright holder makes available to his customer a copy – tangible or intangible

– and at the same time concludes, in return form payment of a fee, a licence agreement

granting the customer the right to use that copy for an unlimited period, that rightholder

sells the copy to the customer and thus exhausts his exclusive distribution right. Such a

transaction involves a transfer of the right of ownership of the copy. Therefore, even if the licence

agreement prohibits a further transfer, the rightholder can no longer oppose the resale of

that copy

...

The Court observes in particular that limiting the application of the principle of the exhaustion of the

distribution right solely to copies of computer programs that are sold on a material medium would

allow the copyright holder to control the resale of copies downloaded from the internet and to

demand further remuneration on the occasion of each new sale, even though the first sale of the

copy had already enabled the rightholder to obtain appropriate remuneration. Such a restriction of

the resale of copies of computer programs downloaded from the internet would go beyond what is

necessary to safeguard the specific subject-matter of the intellectual property concerned

...

In this context, the Court’s answer is that any subsequent acquirer of a copy for which the

copyright holder’s distribution right is exhausted constitutes such a lawful acquirer. He can

therefore download onto his computer the copy sold to him by the first acquirer. Such a download

must be regarded as a reproduction of a computer program that is necessary to enable the new

acquirer to use the program in accordance with its intended purpose

Of course, this is a recent ruling (less than a month old), so we have yet to see it actually being applied across the EU.

edit: Also, unfortunately, the obvious options to redress this is to either complaint o paypal the traditional way, or to sue SI, SEGA and/or STEAM in small claims courts, based on whichever british law was passed to comply with the EU directive in question, for the value of a FM12 licence.

edit2: or try to get an injunction against them forcing them to allow you to download a fully functioning copy from themselves. By law that is your right, in reality, good luck without huge cost.

And honestly, it's easier to simply go the paypal route.

I was aware of the ECJ ruling but note that although EU members states must implement the principles of the ruling, but can interpret them in different ways. Therefore until the ruling is implemented into UK law, my point above stands

I was aware of the ECJ ruling but note that although EU members states must implement the principles of the ruling, but can interpret them in different ways. Therefore until the ruling is implemented into UK law, my point above stands

Before a ECJ ruling, they can implement and interpret them however they feel they are intended.

Once the ECJ clarifies something though, the laws HAVE to follow. If the UK law doesn't either change, or is simply ruled by our high courts to work in a compatible way, then the UK is guilty of failing to implement the regulation, and would face daily fines until it rectified the matter.

edit: Either way though, once the ECJ states that's how the regulation is intended to work, it's EU law. Our law has to either be compatible or be made compatible.

That said, SI are in a good position with regards to this law. Second hand sales are never going to be as big an issue to an annual data update (and gameplay updates of course) company as they are to a developer who release different games. Someone who loves Assassins Quest 5 is going to want to play 1-4, and will often look for the cheapest legal way to do so. Assassin's Quest's publishers will want to get some profit from those games, so used game sales are bad. I doubt many people play FM12 and decide "I really want to give FM07 a go!" though.

The OP's question has been answered and this is not the place for a debate on EU law.