Court orders VIAGOGO to prevent French Internet users from accessing areas of its website
On April 10, 2014, the Court of First Instance of Paris found that VIAGOGO, a Swiss company operating a website selling sports tickets on the Internet, had no right to sell tickets for a French soccer game organized by the French Professional Soccer League. On that basis, the Swiss company was ordered to take appropriate steps to prevent French Internet users from accessing the content of its online communication service on several of its websites.
The French Professional Soccer League (the “LFP”) is the French entity in charge of the organization of professional soccer competitions, including the French national soccer cup.
In February 2014, the LFP sent a cease and desist letter to the Swiss company VIAGOGO asking the latter to cease the commercialisation of game tickets for the French national soccer cup final, on the grounds that VIAGOGO was in breach of the LFP’s monopoly as it was not authorised by the LFP to sell such tickets online.
The LFP also claimed that the tickets were sold by VIAGOGO at a price much higher than the one set by the LFP when they brought an action against VIAGOGO before the interim relief judge of the Court of First Instance of Paris in March 2014.
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- Tags: Broadcasting | Commercial Law | Europe | Football | France | French Professional League (LFP) | Governance | Intellectual Property | Regulation | Switzerland | Ticket Touting
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Written by
Florence Guthfreund-Roland
Florence Guthfreund-Roland regularly advises and litigates on behalf of multinational companies on a variety of matters including telecommunications, media and entertainment, contract law, internet and ecommerce.
Mathilde Hallé
Mathilde Hallé advises French and international private companies as well as public entities (such as governments and regulatory authorities) in their IT and telecommunnication projects.
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