TM Back In Court Over Bots

Ticketmaster is back to battling bots with a new lawsuit against a New York City man whom the company alleges used special computer programs to bypass TM’s captcha puzzles.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, claims event producer Joseph Shalom and his associates were able to use bots to gain access to as many as 200,000 tickets a day before the general public, according to court documents obtained by the New York Times.

TM accuses Shalom and 20 others of fraud and says they violated the company’s terms of use. The suit also lists several offenses that took place during the purchasing process including copyright infringement and fraudulent assumption of false identities, the Times reported.

With the use of bots, “the inventory of tickets available to consumers who do not use such devices is substantially diminished, which has led some consumers to question Ticketmaster’s ability to ensure a level playing field for the purchase of tickets,” the suit says.

The company claims its reputation was damaged and is seeking unspecified damages in the suit.