Park West Gallery^®| Fine Art Registry^® (FAR) Lawsuit

Park West Sues Fine Art Registry Over Cybersmear Campaign

Fine Art Registry's defamatory attacks began in 2007, shortly after Park West rejected a business offer from the website's management. Recognizing the potential profit from Park West's clients (the gallery sells hundreds of thousands of works each year) Fine Art Registry approached Park West to buy the website's art registry services. For an annual membership fee of $9.95 and $2.25 per registered work, FAR simply lists an artwork on its site without examining the actual work, researching its authenticity or guaranteeing the website's future existence. Park West saw no value to its customers in spending well in excess of $1 million per year for FAR's service and passed on FAR's solicitation.

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FAR's cybersmear campaign began soon after, forcing the gallery in April 2008 to take its initial legal action against FAR in Michigan and Florida*, two states in which Park West owns and operates major galleries and processing facilities. While those suits have been progressing through the courts, FAR has continued its online attacks -- publishing numerous false and defamatory statements about Park West -- and sponsored unsuccessful legal challenges in a number of states. A FAR-sponsored suit was dismissed in California in December 2008. Park West is seeking reimbursement for legal fees in that case.

About Fine Art Registry (FAR)

FAR in its press materials claims to be: “Today's only high tech solution to the age old problems that have existed in the art world since before the Ancient Greeks: How to establish provenance, prove authenticity and ownership, prevent forgery and fakery, deter theft and, basically, make it possible to create, buy and sell works of art with the security of knowing that they are what they claim to be.”

Contrary to these bold assertions:

FAR simply lists an artwork on its site without examining the actual work, researching its authenticity or guaranteeing the website's future existence.
It is clear that the website’s service does not deter theft, prevent forgery or enable a collector to know that works of art are “what they claim to be.”

This site it not a watchdog for the art industry; its numerous negative, false and defamatory articles are aimed almost exclusively against Park West. An "advocate" site would report on other issues; this one does not.