Iowa Code 715B.2 – Express warranties
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1. If an art merchant sells or exchanges a work of fine art or multiple and furnishes to a buyer of the work who is not an art merchant a certificate of authenticity or any similar written instrument presumed to be part of the basis of the bargain, the art merchant creates an express warranty for the material facts stated as of the date of the sale or exchange.
Terms Used In Iowa Code 715B.2
- art merchant: includes an auctioneer who sells such works at public auction, and except for multiples, includes persons not otherwise defined or treated as art merchants in this chapter who are consignors or principals of auctioneers. See Iowa Code 715B.1
- Artist: means the creator of a work of fine art or, in the case of multiples, the person who conceived or created the image which is contained in or which constitutes the master from which the individual print was made. See Iowa Code 715B.1
- authorship: refers to the creator of a work of fine art or multiple or to the period, culture, source, or origin, as the case may be, with which the creation of the work is identified in the description of the work. See Iowa Code 715B.1
- Certificate of authenticity: means a written statement by an art merchant confirming, approving, or attesting to the authorship of a work of fine art or multiple, which is capable of being used to the advantage or disadvantage of some person. See Iowa Code 715B.1
- Counterfeit: means a work of fine art or multiple made, altered, or copied, with or without intent to deceive, in such a manner that it appears or is claimed to have an authorship which it does not in fact possess. See Iowa Code 715B.1
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Fine art: means a painting, sculpture, drawing, work of graphic art, or print, but not multiples. See Iowa Code 715B.1
- Limited edition: means works of art produced from a master, all of which are the same image and bear numbers or other markings to denote a limited production to a stated maximum number of multiples, or which are otherwise held out as limited to a maximum number of multiples. See Iowa Code 715B.1
- multiple: means a print, photograph, positive or negative, or similar art object produced in more than one copy and sold, offered for sale, or consigned in, into, or from this state for an amount in excess of one hundred dollars exclusive of any frame. See Iowa Code 715B.1
- Proof: means a multiple which is the same as, and which is produced from the same master as the multiples in a limited edition, but which, whether so designated or not, is set aside from and is in addition to the limited edition to which it relates. See Iowa Code 715B.1
- Signed: means autographed by the artist's own hand, and not by mechanical means of reproduction, and if a multiple, after the multiple was produced, whether or not the master was signed. See Iowa Code 715B.1
- Written instrument: means a written or printed agreement, bill of sale, invoice, certificate of authenticity, catalogue, or any other written or printed note, memorandum, or label describing the work of fine art or multiple which is to be sold, exchanged, or consigned by an art merchant. See Iowa Code 715B.1
2. Except as provided in subsection 4, an express warranty shall not be negated or limited; however, in construing the degree of warranty, due regard shall be given the terminology used and the meaning accorded the terminology by the customs and usage of the trade at the time and in the locality where the sale or exchange took place.
3. Language used in a certificate of authenticity or similar written instrument, stating that:
a. The work is by a named author or has a named authorship, without any limiting words, means unequivocally, that the work is by such named author or has such named authorship.
b. The work is “attributed to a named author” means a work of the period of the author, attributed to the author, but not with certainty by the author.
c. The work is of the “school of a named author” means a work of the period of the author, by a pupil or close follower of the author, but not by the author.
4. An express warranty and any disclaimer intended to negate or limit the warranty shall be construed wherever reasonable as consistent with each other but subject to the provisions of section 554.2202 on parol and extrinsic evidence. However, the negation or limitation is inoperative to the extent that the negation or limitation is unreasonable or that such construction is unreasonable. A negation or limitation is unreasonable if:
a. The disclaimer is not conspicuous, written, and apart from the warranty, in words which clearly and specifically inform the buyer that the seller assumes no risk, liability, or responsibility for the material facts stated concerning the work of fine art. Words of general disclaimer are not sufficient to negate or limit an express warranty.
b. The work of fine art is proved to be a counterfeit and this was not clearly indicated in the description of the work.
c. The information provided is proved to be, as of the date of sale or exchange, false, mistaken, or erroneous.
5. This section shall apply to an art merchant selling or exchanging a multiple who furnishes the buyer with the name of the artist and any other information including, but not limited to, whether the multiple is a limited edition, a proof, or signed. The warranty provided under this subsection shall include sales to buyers who are art merchants.