Description

Frauds, forgeries, and thefts in the world of valuable antiques are recurring more and more. Easy money can be made by a clever crook. What should the seller, buyer, or owner of a violin (or other string instrument) look out for? What is the position when a label is wrong or there is a dispute as to correct attribution? What sensible precautions should sellers take? What activities are likely to be prosecuted by Trading Standards Officers? What can be done when a violin is stolen? All these matters (and more) are dealt with in this book. This new edition includes a discussion of American Law as it relates to to violin commerce, including a discussion of violin theft, fraud, and contract issues, product disparagement, and slander, auction issues, tax issues, secret commissions, ethics, and intellectual property theft.

CONTENTS

Part I
1. A Case Study in Supply and Demand – the Violin Scene
2. History of Violin Frauds
3. Liability for Misdescriptions – Civil and Criminal Law
4. Business for Pleasure – Legal Traps
5. Misdescriptions and False Labels
6. Fakes and Forgeries – the Problem of Attribution
7. Stolen Violins
8. Improving Violin Trading and Repairing Standards
Part II (Carla Shapreau)
9. The Purloined Violin
10. International and Innocent Misdescriptions
11. Breach of Contract and Warranties
12. Auction Issues
13. Discovery of Fraud and Deception: Fiddling Away the Time – The Statute of Limitations and other Defenses
14. Defamation and Product Disparagement
15. Tax Issues
16. Secret Commissions
17. Criminal Liability
18. Ethics
19. Intellectual Property
Appendix: A Summary of Practical Guide-Lines for Everyone Involved in the Violin Trade
Bibliography
Table of Cases
Table of Legislation
Index