No cyber war as Cosgrave’s Web Summit settles legal row

Paddy Cosgrave's Web Summit, the technology jamboree for people who used to get their heads flushed in the toilet at school, has settled a $6 million lawsuit taken against it by a rival US events company, the Summit Series.

Elliot Bisnow, the Summit Series founder, accused Cosgrave of "deceptive business practices and unfair competition" after the Web Summit, which takes place in Dublin next month, was briefly marketed as the Summit.

Bisnow’s grounding affidavit accusing Cosgrave of pinching his ideas after they met is an unintentionally hilarious testament to his own self-perceived brilliance. What else could you expect from a 28-year old who bought a mountain?

Cosgrave, another successful young entrepreneur who also has an ego to match, always denied the US company’s claims.

He dismissed the case as “spurious” a few days after it was revealed by this newspaper in August.

Documents recently filed with the court in Nevada show the two sides came to a confidential settlement agreement last week.

About 20,000 people, including the chief executives of companies such as Tinder and the gloriously-named Github, are expected to attend the Web Summit in the RDS next month. Eva Longoria, the Desperate Housewives actor, will be another attraction.

A pass for the three-day event costs €805 until 7.30pm today, when it goes up, according to the handy countdown clock on the event’s website. A late-booker ticket costs a chunky €1,790.

No wonder these guys are so successful.