Senator Scott D. Sandall proposes the following substitute bill:


1     
FRAUDULENT TICKET SALES MODIFICATIONS

2     
2023 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Scott D. Sandall

5     
House Sponsor: James A. Dunnigan

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill makes changes to the Ticket Website Sales Act and the Ticket Transferability
10     Act.
11     Highlighted Provisions:
12          This bill:
13          ▸     makes out-of-state online ticket resellers subject to the Ticket Website Sales Act;
14          ▸     amends requirements for online ticket sale disclosures;
15          ▸     prohibits the use of certain intellectual property without written authorization;
16          ▸     prohibits the knowing sale of more than one copy of the same ticket;
17          ▸     adds requirements related to refunds for tickets sold on the secondary market online;
18          ▸     prohibits the use of ticket purchasing software in certain circumstances;
19          ▸     defines terms; and
20          ▸     makes technical and conforming changes.
21     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
22          None
23     Other Special Clauses:
24          None
25     Utah Code Sections Affected:

26     AMENDS:
27          13-54-102, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2019, Chapter 115
28          13-54-201, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2019, Chapter 115
29          13-54-202, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2021, Chapter 154
30     ENACTS:
31          13-54-203, Utah Code Annotated 1953
32     

33     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
34          Section 1. Section 13-54-102 is amended to read:
35          13-54-102. Definitions.
36          (1) "Consumer" means a person who purchases a ticket for use by the person or the
37     person's invitee.
38          (2) "Division" means the Division of Consumer Protection in the Department of
39     Commerce.
40          (3) "Domain" means the portion of text in a URL that is to the left of the top-level
41     domain.
42          (4) "Event" means a single, specific occurrence of one of the following, that takes place
43     at a venue:
44          (a) a concert;
45          (b) a game;
46          (c) a performance;
47          (d) a show; or
48          (e) an occasion similar to the occasions described in Subsections (4)(a) through (d).
49          (5) "Event participant" means any of the following persons who is associated with an
50     event or on behalf of whom a person sells a ticket to an event:
51          (a) an artist;
52          (b) a league;
53          (c) a team;
54          (d) a tour group;
55          (e) a venue; or
56          (f) any person similar to the persons described in Subsections (5)(a) through (e).

57          (6) "Person" does not include a government entity.
58          (7) "Primary ticket seller" means the person who first sells a particular ticket.
59          (8) (a) "Reseller" means a person who sells or offers for sale a ticket after it is sold by a
60     primary ticket seller.
61          (b) "Reseller" includes a person who engages in conduct described in Subsection
62     (8)(a), regardless of whether the person is also the primary ticket seller of the ticket or the
63     primary ticket seller of another ticket to the same event.
64          (c) "Reseller" does not include a person who transfers a ticket to another person
65     without reimbursement or consideration.
66          (9) "Ticket" means evidence of an individual's right of entry to an event.
67          (10) "Ticket aggregator" means a person who aggregates the prices for which other
68     persons offer tickets for sale or resale.
69          (11) "Ticket purchasing software" means software that is primarily designed for the
70     purpose of:
71          (a) interfering with the sale of tickets by circumventing controls or measures on a ticket
72     website to bypass posted event ticket purchasing limits; or
73          (b) undermining the integrity of posted online ticket purchasing order rules.
74          [(11)] (12) "Ticket website" means:
75          (a) with respect to a reseller, a website on which the reseller sells or offers for sale or
76     resale one or more tickets; or
77          (b) with respect to a ticket aggregator, a website on which the ticket aggregator
78     aggregates the prices for which other persons offer tickets for sale or resale.
79          [(12)] (13) "Top-level domain" includes .com, .net, and .org.
80          [(13)] (14) "URL" means the uniform resource locator for a website on the Internet.
81          [(14)] (15) (a) "Venue" means real property located in the state where one or more
82     persons host a concert, game, performance, show, or similar occasion.
83          (b) "Venue" includes an arena, a stadium, a theater, a concert hall, an amphitheater, a
84     fairground, a club, a convention center, a public assembly facility, or a mass gathering location.
85          Section 2. Section 13-54-201 is amended to read:
86          13-54-201. Disclosure requirements.
87          (1) A reseller or ticket aggregator shall clearly and conspicuously disclose on each of

88     its ticket websites that:
89          (a) the website is a secondary market and is not the primary ticket seller; and
90          (b) the price of a ticket on the website may be higher than face value.
91          (2) A primary ticket seller and a reseller shall clearly and conspicuously disclose during
92     the checkout process an itemization of the total price for which the primary ticket seller or
93     reseller is offering the ticket for sale or resale, including taxes and each fee.
94          Section 3. Section 13-54-202 is amended to read:
95          13-54-202. Prohibited practices.
96          (1) (a) It is unlawful for any person who is not a primary ticket seller to represent,
97     directly or indirectly, that the person is a primary ticket seller.
98          (b) If a presiding officer or court determines appropriate after considering other
99     relevant factors, the following actions by a person who is not a primary ticket seller establish a
100     presumption that the person is representing that the person is a primary ticket seller in violation
101     of Subsection (1)(a):
102          (i) using the name of an event in the domain of the person's ticket website, unless the
103     person has written authorization from an agent of the event;
104          (ii) using the name of an event participant in the domain of the person's ticket website,
105     unless the person has written authorization from the event participant or an agent of the event
106     participant; [or]
107          (iii) using, in paid search results, the name of an event or event participant in a manner
108     described in Subsection (1)(b)(i) or (ii)[.];
109          (iv) using on the person's website any of the following that individually or in
110     combination is substantially similar to a primary ticket seller's, venue's, or event's website, with
111     the intent to mislead a potential purchaser, without written authorization:
112          (A) text;
113          (B) images;
114          (C) website graphics;
115          (D) website design; or
116          (E) Internet address.
117          (2) It is unlawful for a person who lists or offers a ticket for sale to:
118          (a) accept payment for the ticket; and

119          (b) fail to deliver to the consumer who purchases the ticket a ticket that reflects the
120     transaction to which the parties agreed.
121          (3) It is unlawful for a person to:
122          (a) knowingly sell more than one copy of the same ticket;
123          (b) use ticket purchasing software to circumvent any portion of the process for
124     purchasing a ticket on a ticket website, including:
125          (i) circumventing:
126          (A) security measures;
127          (B) identity validation measures; or
128          (C) an access control system; or
129          (ii) disguising the identity of a ticket purchaser for the purpose of purchasing a number
130     of tickets that exceeds the maximum number of tickets allowed for a person to purchase.
131          [(3)] (4) It is unlawful for a person to fail to comply with a provision of Section
132     13-54-201.
133          [(4)] (5) Nothing in this section prohibits a person from including the name of an event
134     or an event participant in a URL after the top-level domain.
135          Section 4. Section 13-54-203 is enacted to read:
136          13-54-203. Resale refund requirements.
137          A primary ticket seller or reseller from which a consumer purchases a ticket shall
138     guarantee a full refund, including handling fees, if:
139          (1) the event for which the primary ticket seller or reseller sold the ticket is canceled;
140          (2) the ticket does not grant the purchaser admission to the event;
141          (3) the ticket is counterfeit; or
142          (4) the ticket fails to conform to the description that the primary ticket seller or reseller
143     advertised to the purchaser.