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FKP Scorpio and Ed Sheeran triumph over Viagogo again

FKP Scorpio has won an injunction preventing Viagogo from offering ‘worthless’ tickets for Ed Sheeran concerts.

The Hamburg-based concert and festival promoter, which is co-organising Sheeran’s upcoming Mathematics Tour, is using specially developed mobile ticketing technology for all concerts on the tour that makes unauthorised resale impossible.

Tickets can only be purchased through the official provider, Eventim, or its resale platform Fansale. And, since all tickets are personalised and digital-only, it is not possible for them to be resold outside of the Fansale platform.

Subsequently, the district court of Hamburg has banned Switzerland-based Viagogo from offering Ed Sheeran tickets or allowing them to be sold without making it clear that buyers will not be granted entry to the concerts. FKP Scorpio and Ed Sheeran won a similar case against Viagogo in 2019.

“We are pleased about this success in court, which puts further obstacles in the way of unfair business models at the expense of consumers,” says Inga Esseling, promoter at FKP Scorpio.

“[This ruling] puts further obstacles in the way of unfair business models at the expense of consumers”

“In addition to containing such offers, legal steps are also necessary to draw public attention to the issue. This is the only way we can reach and protect fans early enough. FKP Scorpio will continue to be supported by the law firm Schütz Rechtsanwälte from Karlsruhe, which has already successfully taken action against Viagogo several times.”

Attorney Dr Markus Schütz comments: “The transfer within the framework of the applicable rules of the game and at fair prices is not the problem. It becomes problematic when tickets are bought with the intention of making money from the start. One can only advise the fans not to run the risk of buying invalid or counterfeit tickets at exorbitant prices on the black market and especially at Viagogo. We will continue to systematically fight resales at inflated prices.”

Sheeran’s agent Jon Ollier of One Fiinix Live recently said he believes digital-only ticketing is the future. “There is no reason why in a world full of technology, that we can’t lean on technology a little bit more,” he told IQ.

“We hope that this time [the battle against unauthorised resale sites] is going to feel a lot more like it’s all happening in the background. Last time around, it had to play out in the media because no one was listening. But people are listening now, people are aware and at the table, trying to change laws, trying to move things forward,” he said. Read the full interview with Ollier here.

 


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