Bookstores Exempt From California's Autograph Law

CORTE MADERA, CA – A Marin County bookseller said Monday he is delighted about the repeal of a section of a state law that set onerous requirements for certifying authors' autographs on books.

"We're very happy about it," said Book Passage co-owner Bill Petrocelli.

"The law never should have happened," he said. Book Passage is an independent bookstore with branches in Corte Madera, Sausalito and San Francisco.

The repeal of the provisions applying to autographed books was carried out through a revision of a state law enacted by the Legislature last year.

The revision was introduced by Assemblyman Todd Gloria, D-San Diego, in January, refined and then passed by the Legislature this summer and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday.

Last year's law was an expansion of a 1992 law intended to fight counterfeiting on sports memorabilia. The Legislature last year extended the measure to all collectibles sold for more than $5, other than those sold
online or by pawnshops, effective on Jan. 1 of this year.

One unintended consequence was that the new requirements applied to books autographed during bookstore author events, at which authors discuss their books and sign copies for customers, who are not charged extra for the autographs.

The measure would have required booksellers to provide a certificate of authenticity stating whether the item was signed in the presence of the dealer, the time and location of signing and the name of a
witness. Dealers were required to keep copies of the records for seven years and could be sued for 10 times the cost of an item plus legal fees for failing to provide a true certificate.

Complying with those requirements would have bankrupted the store, Petrocelli said.

The revised version of the law now applies only to sports and entertainment memorabilia sold for more than $50. Books, fine arts, furniture and decorative arts items are specifically exempted.

In May, while the revised legislation was pending, Book Passage and Petrocelli challenged the law in a lawsuit filed in federal court in San Francisco, arguing that it violated booksellers' rights of free speech and equal treatment.

Petrocelli said he believes the lawsuit helped to push the legislation forward.

He said that a silver lining of the legislative process is that it drew public attention to the importance of author events, at which readers can engage in discussions with the author in addition to gaining an
autograph.

"That's part of free speech," Petrocelli said.

By Bay City News Service / Image via Pixabay