Lyn Bishop : Sharing Secrets

The Los Angeles Times reports a lawsuit filed against the temporary Louis Vuitton boutique created to sell Takashi Murakami products in the Geffen Contemporary at the Museum of Contemporary Art. According to the Times, the Vuitton luxury shop failed to provide the collector with the proper documentation in the form of a Certificate of Authenticity for the the Murakami prints he purchased there.

Do you know what a Certificate of Authenticity is? Did you know that it is required by law to be provided upon collector request when purchasing a multiple in the State of California? Why should you care?

A Certificate of Authenticity, as defined by California Civil Code Section 1740-1745 is a written or printed description of the multiple sold, exchanged, or consigned by an art dealer.

A Multiple, as defined by this same California Civil Code is any fine print, photograph (positive or negative), sculpture cast, collage, or similar art object produced in more than one copy.

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This proposed amendment to the Copyright Act is designed to allow the use of copyrighted works in the event that the copyright owner can not be found to acquire the appropriate license, hence the term Orphan Works…

That sounds fine on the surface, but what kind of ‘good-faith’ search would a prospective user of the artwork need to preform? Where would they start the search? When would they give up the search? In my opinion, this Bill creates an effective method for legalized theft of countless works of arts, and creates a new big business in the process.

The Bills before both the House and Senate will do nothing to strengthen the rights of copyrights owners, and instead will impose a heavy and costly burden for the artist who wishes to protect their intellectual property.

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