March 16, 2010

New Federal Bill Protecting Resale Unveiled

Representatives Jim Matheson of Utah and co-sponsor Lee Terry of Nebraska recently submitted a legislative proposal to Congress intended to protect event ticket resale. House Resolution 4795, titled "To prohibit restrictions on the resale of event tickets sold in interstate commerce as an unfair or deceptive act or practice," was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on March 9, 2010.

HR 4795, known as the Ticket Act of 2010, contains the following provisions:

- prohibits ticket issuers from restricting or prohibiting resale through various conduct and activities, such as contractual terms, penalties or technology-based restrictions

- requires sellers and resellers to meet minimum consumer protection standards

- charges the Federal Trade Commission with enforcement

- preempts state laws not consistent with the act but allows states to continue to regulate public safety and other conduct issues

- excludes charities where all event tickets are distributed at no charge or to bona fide members of booster organizations
Click here to access the full text of the bill.

The Better Ticketing Association would like to encourage all brokers to contact their Congressional representatives and ask them to sign on as a co-sponsor to the bill. Click here to find your Representatives.

If you need more information or would like to contact the Better Ticketing Association, you may do so via email.

Broker Survey: Currently, we are conducting a first-ever survey of ticket resale brokers involved in the secondary market. Your input is vital to ensuring that an industry profile can be developed. Please take the time to fill out the survey--you could even win an iPod Shuffle!

The survey can be found on the Better Ticketing Association website or by clicking here.

Disclaimer: The Better Ticket Association is a TicketNetwork-sponsored organization. The contents of this newsletter should not be interpreted as legal advice, and are for information only. TicketNetwork recommends you speak with your lawyer and/or accountant for any and all legal guidance and recommendations.