A judge has granted Broker Genius’ request for a preliminary injunction against Seat Scouts’ Command Center product, according to a statement released by the company on Monday. Judge Sidney Stein of the Southern District of New York issued the ruling on Friday, requiring all activities related to Command Center be shut down by Seat Scouts as of that day.
“As we have stated from the beginning of our legal proceedings, Broker Genius encourages fair competition because it accelerates innovation,” said Broker Genius CEO and founder Sam Sherman. “However, there is a very clear line between fair and unfair competition, and the ruling by Judge Stein is a testament to that fact. With that said, we are ready to put this matter behind us and focus all of our efforts on creating more value for our clients.”
Broker Genius brought a series of lawsuits in the fall of 2017 against what it said were companies founded by former clients who built products which unlawfully misappropriated proprietary technology. Two lawsuits were closed when the respective companies accepted permanent injunctions in settling the complaints. Seat Scouts responded to the initial complaint with a statement saying that the claims were “patently frivolous and baseless,” and that it intended to vigorously defend itself against the lawsuit.
Despite the injunction, Seat Scouts indicated it intends to continue to fight the lawsuit. “The Court’s decision is not a final determination of the issue, and we expect that a trial will fully vindicate us,” a statement reads. “We remain firm in our commitment to offering you a top line product. We’re in this for the long run, because we believe that [our clients] deserve different and better products. We’re sticking with you, and we hope that you stick with us.”
Seat Scouts’ statement announced a new product being rolled out that is a “data and analytics platform” rather than an auto-pricing product, which Command Center was (and Broker Genius’ “AutoPricer” – the software at original issue in the lawsuit – is.)
Broker Genius indicated it intends to follow its legal victory with the continued rollout of impactful releases through the summer of 2018 leading up to TicketSummit and World Ticket Conference in Las Vegas “that further demonstrate its position as the leading provider of world-class service to the broker industry.”
The statements from both Broker Genius and Seat Scouts can be read below:
Seat Scouts – via email
Dear loyal customers
On Friday, we learned that a court in New York issued a preliminary order that will require us to stop offering Command Center. The Court’s decision is not a final determination of the issue, and we expect that a trial will fully vindicate us. Nonetheless, we will of course comply with that decision and therefore want to alert you to the steps we are taking that will both ensure our compliance with the court’s order while also taking care that your needs are met.
We are excited to announce that we have been working on Event Watcher, and are rolling it out now. Event Watcher is a data and analytics platform that will allow you to manage your ticket inventory, while also obtaining information on the changing ticket markets. It is not an autopricer, but will provide you with the critical and timely data that allow you to make pricing decisions. It will also provide tools that allow you to dissect the market trends based on your individual goals. We are migrating your account and you will immediately have access to a free 30-day trial during which to familiarize you with Event Watcher and its capabilities. We will notify you once your account has been migrated. We also will continue our R&D efforts to develop new strategies and products as this market and your needs continue to evolve.
We remain firm in our commitment to offering you a top line product. We’re in this for the long run, because we believe that you deserve different and better products. We’re sticking with you, and we hope that you stick with us.
Broker Genius – via Web
Valley Stream, NY, May 14, 2018 – Broker Genius, the pioneer of dynamic pricing technology in the secondary ticket market, announced today that it won a preliminary injunction against Seat Scouts, requiring it to shut down all activities related to its Command Center product effective immediately.
Broker Genius filed the motion in November 2017, claiming that Seat Scouts CEO Drew Gainor breached the Terms of Use that he agreed to as a Broker Genius client, by using Broker Genius’ AutoPricer product to derive a nearly identical tool called Command Center. Gainor’s Command Center product was built using Broker Genius’ proprietary information and has substantially similar overall architecture, UI/UX, and widgets to the AutoPricer.
The ruling was issued on May 11, 2018 by Judge Sidney Stein of the Southern District of New York.
Preliminary injunctions are rarely granted and only when the court is convinced that the plaintiff’s claims are likely to ultimately prevail. The preliminary injunction ruling stipulates that Seat Scouts must cease operating Command Center and refrain from making the product available, by sale or otherwise, to any third parties including existing or potential clients.
“As we have stated from the beginning of our legal proceedings, Broker Genius encourages fair competition because it accelerates innovation,” said Broker Genius CEO and founder Sam Sherman. “However, there is a very clear line between fair and unfair competition, and the ruling by Judge Stein is a testament to that fact. With that said, we are ready to put this matter behind us and focus all of our efforts on creating more value for our clients.”
Sherman added: “Broker Genius deeply appreciates our current clients and vendor partners who gave us their support over the past six months. There’s nothing more important than our partnership with our clients – current and new – and we look forward to collaborating with them to push the boundaries together.”
Broker Genius will make a series of impactful feature releases over the next two months leading up to and at the Ticket Summit and World Ticket Conference in Las Vegas that further demonstrate its position as the leading provider of world-class service to the broker industry.
