Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Resale Agreements

Judd Tully has a piece in the October 2008 issue of Art+Auction on "the little-known but widespread practice of so-called artist/gallery resale agreements in primary market transactions" -- which "basically require or request the buyer to agree, in writing or otherwise, to give the gallery or artist the right of first refusal, usually for a limited time, when the work is about to be resold." My partner John Silberman is quoted:

"A number of dealers and players in the market believe that resale agreements are unenforceable, but several prominent attorneys contradict that notion. 'I do believe they are enforceable,' says John Silberman, a leading New York entertainment and intellectual-property lawyer. 'You just have to do it right and make it very clear.'"