AB-1570 Collectibles: sale of autographed memorabilia.

Gov. Brown signs bill into law reducing impediments that affect Calif. auctions

October 13, 2017

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – On Oct. 12, Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 228 into law, immediately reducing impediments to auction companies doing business in California. AB 228 corrects the problems created by provisions in AB 1570 (Chang) [Ch. 258, Stat. 2016], Signed Memorabilia. AB 228 was authored by Assembly Member Todd Gloria (D-San Diego) and Senator Cathleen Galgiani D-Stockton).

Last year AB 1570 (Chang), enacted new provisions in Section 1739.7 of the California Civil Code, effective January 1, 2017. The amendments were intended to rigorously govern the sale of “autographed” sports and entertainment memorabilia by requiring dealers who advertise and sell any item bearing a signature to provide a certificate of authenticity to the purchaser. That measure also required various onerous practices and procedures relating to record maintenance and disclosures of the identity of consignors of such “autographed” items, the latter of which raised privacy and confidentiality concerns. Severe civil penalties (up to 10 times actual damages, or more, plus legal fees and costs to a successful claimant) could be applied to anyone violating the statute.

The language of AB 1570 severely impacted entities that are not, or are only minimally, engaged in the sale of sports and entertainment memorabilia and that were and are not the intended focus of the statute, thereby unintentionally hindering commercial activity in the state of California. The breadth and vagueness posed by AB 1570 is what compelled the enactment of AB 228.

AB 228 corrects last year’s enacted statute as follows:

• Revises the definitions of “Collectibles” so as to more clearly target “Sports and Entertainment” collectibles, and excludes items like signed works of fine art, furniture, decorative objects, jewelry, books and manuscripts; and numismatic items or bullion, not intended by the author of AB 1570 to be included within the statute’s reach;

• Addresses the privacy and confidentiality issues created by AB 1570, by striking the provisions that require the disclosure of the name and address of consignors of goods and instead requires the dealer to retain records of the name and address of the third party for a period of seven years, during which time a consumer may seek such records pursuant to a subpoena or judicial order;

• Declares the intent of the Legislature that nothing in AB 228 shall be construed to affect the decision of the Court of Appeal in Gentry v. eBay, Inc. (2002) 99 Cal.App.4th 816; excluding providers or operators of an online marketplace; and

AB 228 contained an urgency clause, so the provisions in AB 228 go into effect immediately.

The coalition that spent the past 12 months fighting the restrictive provisions of AB 1570 included: Abell Auction Co., Bonhams, Clars Auction Gallery, LiveAuctioneers.com, Michaan’s Auctions and the associated company Antiques By The Bay.

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OCT. 12, 2017, 4:41 P.M.

Dealers who sell certain signed collectibles will soon be required to provide express warranty

Mina Corpuz

Gov. Jerry Brown signed off Thursday on a legislative fix to the state’s law regulating autographed memorabilia.

AB 228 will require dealers who sell signed sports and entertainment collectibles for more than $50 to provide an express warranty starting in January 2018.

The measure, proposed by Assemblyman Todd Gloria (D-San Diego), aimed to address some unintended consequences that arose from a bill passed during the previous legislative session.

That law required all signed collectibles sold for more than $5 to come with certificates verifying their authenticity.

After the law became active, there were concerns about the effect on book and comic book stores that often host author signings. Because it applied to any autographed item, owners were required to provide certificates for signed books.

Under the new law Brown signed, autographed books, fine art, furniture and decorative objects are excluded from the express warranty requirement.

Stars Wars actor Mark Hamill supported the 2016 proposal after fans reached out to him on Twitter to ask whether their items had his real signature.

The new measure allows buyers to pursue civil action against a dealer if they fail to comply with express warranty provisions. Previously, customers who didn’t receive an authenticity certificate were entitled to recover damages worth 10 times the cost of the memorabilia.