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Ticketmaster sues touts over bot use
By Andy Malt | Published on Tuesday 3 October 2017
Live Nation’s Ticketmaster has sued two companies in the US, alleging that they have used bot technology to buy up tickets for live shows.
As previously reported, so called bots allow users to buy up large quantities of tickets for in-demand concerts, in order to put them on the secondary market before genuine fans have had a chance to buy them from primary sellers.
The use of bots is the touting issue where even the secondary ticketing sites – such as those operated by Ticketmaster – have supported more regulation. And even where the law hasn’t introduced a specific bots ban, many primary sites specifically prohibit their use in their terms and conditions.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ticketmaster has filed a lawsuit against Prestige Entertainment, Renaissance Ventures and two individuals over the use of bots to purchase tickets from its platform.
Earlier this year, Prestige and Renaissance agreed to fund the bulk of a $4.2 million settlement with New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman – who has been a strong proponent of restrictions on touts – as part of which they also agreed to stop using bots. Ticketmaster now says it has evidence that this agreement has been broken.
“Ticketmaster has uncovered evidence that suggests Renaissance has already breached the agreement by continuing to utilise bots to purchase tickets offered by Ticketmaster”, says the lawsuit. It also says that the defendants have ignored cease and desist letters.