Ticketmaster Uses Federal Technology Laws in Suit Against Prestige

A U.S. district judge has given the go-ahead for a federal lawsuit between Prestige Entertainment and Ticketmaster, alleging illegal bot use, copyright infringement and other violations of intellectual property law, to continue in federal court.

Ticketmaster filed a lawsuit against Prestige Entertainment alleging that Prestige used computer bots to purchase large amounts of tickets to blockbuster events that include, for example, the play “Hamilton” and the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao boxing match.

In May, a California district court judge ruled that Ticketmaster’s petition did indeed include a legitimate claim, and as such, did not warrant dismissal by the court. In its suit, Ticketmaster alleged copyright infringement, violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), fraud, violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and agreement violations that include violations of Ticketmaster’s Terms of Use due to illegal bot use. In total, Ticketmaster had alleged ten clams while Prestige's motion to dismiss all the claims was rejected.

Illegal Bot Use Can Inflate Ticket Prices

In the decision, the judge noted that Prestige’s business model was based on fundamental evasion of Ticketmaster’s policies and Terms of Use. Because the judge did not find that Prestige’s use constituted “ordinary Internet users,” the judge agreed to allow Ticketmaster’s suit to go forward. Specifically, Ticketmaster alleged that Prestige engages in illegal bot use and numerous other evasion tactics to secure tens of thousands of tickets to major events, sometimes procuring as high as thirty to forty percent of the available inventory of tickets through such illegal means. Ticketmaster then alleged that Prestige would funnel the tickets to other platforms such as StubHub to make further profits. StubHub, for its own part, has indicated that its own user agreements prohibit them from commenting on the ongoing litigation, because its own agreements prohibit them from disclosing who uses their platform to buy and sell tickets.

This is not Prestige’s first brush with law. Prestige has already paid settlements to other parties over similar claims of illegal bot use, including a $3.35 million-dollar settlement to New York state over claims of illegal bot use to secure New York concerts that included headliners such as U2 at Madison Square Garden Arena.

Ticketmaster Hopes for Greater Enforcement of the BOTS Act

Ticketmaster has claimed that the federal district court’s refusal to dismiss its claim is already a significant win and that it hopes that the win sets precedent against illegal bot use. Similarly, Ticketmaster has stated that it hopes that the coverage of this case leads to stronger legislation regarding bot use as well as greater enforcement of applicable laws such as the Better Online Tickets Sales Act, commonly referred to as the Federal (“BOTS”) Act. The BOTS Act, which is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission, specifically prohibits the resale of tickets purchase using bot technology and sets a fine of $16,000 for violations of the act. Regardless of the outcome of the case, consumers should be concerned about illegal bot use to secure ticket inventory. If third parties are allowed to use bots to secure tickets in such a manner, they are able to artificially drive up the price of tickets for their own profit. Hopefully, if the government is able to better enforce legislation such as the BOTS Act, it will curtail illegal securing of tickets in the future.

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