[Joe Forster/STA]

I think the solution is very simple. Don't buy the game for a high price right away when it becomes available in the shops. Wait until a proper no-CD patch (or mini image, whichever you prefer) also becomes available on GCW. (You might wanna keep watching this forum for possible problems with that particular no-CD patch or mini image, though!) Then buy the game, for a lower price, from the publisher or second-hand (via e.g. Ebay) and use it with happiness and without the copy protection. (Perhaps, even the publisher or the developer may remove the nasty part of the copy protection in late official updates...)