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I have a friend that purchased Diablo 3, played it, finished it, and doesn't care to play with others. He is no longer interested in the game.

Now he is willing to sell me his copy for a fraction of the price.

From browsing the web a little bit, something tells me I won't be able to use his key since it is already linked to his Battle.net account.

Is there any way I would be able to use his key legally? Would contacting Blizzard help, provided my friend e-mails them asking them to transfer his Diablo 3 License to another Battle.net account?

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    Why downvote? Looks like a perfectly legal question to me.
    – Fadeway
    Jul 6, 2012 at 17:33
  • @Fadeway: Some people may not have fully read the question and assumed that it was an EULA/TOS circumvention question.
    – MBraedley
    Jul 6, 2012 at 17:46
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    The only way to "resell" blizzard games is to create a new account when registering a game, so that you can sell the account (basically, just give the other person the login and password). And this only makes sense if you use fake data on registration unless you like the idea of the buyer to know your personal data.
    – Emiliano
    Jul 10, 2012 at 17:10

2 Answers 2

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A Diablo 3 License is Non-resellable. Once the key is activated it is tied to the owner's Battle.Net account, which is non-transferrable and cannot be sold under any circumstances at this time, per the term of Blizzard's EULA.

So NO, your friend cannot sell you his copy of Diablo III in any legal way.

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    And yes, I'm aware of the recent European court decision. At this time, it has no impact on this answer. If that changes, ping me and I'll update it, but there is no reason to believe, based upon current readings, that it changes anything in any material way.
    – LessPop_MoreFizz
    Jul 6, 2012 at 17:30
  • Just curious, is there a distinction between a software product and software service in the decision? AFAIK, first sale doctrine (or equivalents) only apply to products.
    – MBraedley
    Jul 6, 2012 at 17:49
  • @MBraedley EULAs will almost always specify that you are purchasing a license to the product; you're not buying a product or receiving a service.
    – Frank
    Jul 6, 2012 at 17:53
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    @fbueckert: But that was the whole point of the decision. Putting that into an EULA makes for an onerous, one-sided, non-negotiated clause. Courts generally don't like non-negotiated contracts, let alone ones that also include onerous and one-sided clauses. That notwithstanding, you can also be seen as buying a license to use a software service or product, which affects the ease of re-selling it.
    – MBraedley
    Jul 6, 2012 at 18:04
  • @MBraedley As of now, there's been no administrative interpretation of the ruling that has allowed for any material impact. You aren't a European lawyer (based on your profile anyways), and neither am I. Let them worry about it, and once there's more information, if I need to, I'll update this answer. For now, what's there is accurate, and complete.
    – LessPop_MoreFizz
    Jul 6, 2012 at 18:06
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I was able to once get them to release a cd-key for me. I had to call Tech Support and they were willing to release my Starcraft II key for me. The only difference is I told them I was going to put a new cd-key in for the Limited Edition Starcraft II. So your best shot is to call Tech Support and try it that way. He will have to call. Just say you had a second account and you wanted it on that one instead. I am not sure if that would work but that is your only legit shot of doing it.

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    Your "legit" shot involves lying and saying it is your account?
    – bwarner
    Jul 10, 2012 at 19:28

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