Bookstores Suffer Unintended Consequences From Mark Hamill’s Campaign Against Fake Autographs

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From Reason:

In a galaxy far, far away, Luke Skywalker is the ultimate hero (or is he?), but here’s a note to state lawmakers in this galaxy: maybe don’t trust him to make policy for you.

California is learning that the hard way, as a new law championed by Star Wars actor Mark Hamill has landed the state in court. In that lawsuit, the owners of a California-based book store argue that new rules governing the sale of autographed memorabilia—like books signed by authors at events hosted by their store and scores of others around the state—are overly burdensome, threaten harsh punishments for minor infractions, and above all else are poorly written.

Under the terms of the law, which passed last year and took effect in January, retailers have to provide certificates of authenticity for all autographed merchandise worth more than $5. That doesn’t sound like a difficult burden for retailers, but look at what has to be included on that certificate.

The law specifies that those certificates must contain a description of the collectible and the name of the person who signed it, the purchase price and date, and an “explicit statement” of authenticity. It must also indicate how many items were signed, whether they are numbered as part of a series, and whether any more might be sold in the future. Oh, and there has to be proof that the seller is insured. And, of course, there has to be a certificate number provided by the bureaucrats at the State Board of Equalization (a real thing, believe it or not, tasked with collecting various taxes and fees for everything from gasoline to recycled computers). There’s a separate requirement for an “identifying serial number,” which, naturally, has to match the serial number of the receipt—a receipt that must be kept by the seller for no less than seven years after the transaction. Finally, the certificate of authenticity has to say whether the author provided his John Hancock in the presence of the dealer, or another witness, and include the name of the witness. (There is no word on whether the witness’ first born must also sign the form.)

. . . .

“This law’s expensive mandates — with voluminous reporting requirements and draconian penalties — create a nightmare for independent booksellers that thrive on author events and book signings,” said Bill Petrocelli, owner of the Marin County-based Book Passage, which has three locations around the San Francisco Bay Area. Petrocelli is the plaintiff in the lawsuit seeking a permanent injunction against the enforcement of the autograph law. The Pacific Legal Foundation, a libertarian legal nonprofit, is representing him in the lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed in federal court for the Northern District of California.

Anastasia Boden, an attorney for PLF, says the law does little to protect consumers from the dangers of fraudulently autographed memorabilia. Rather, the lawsuit alleges, the law will have a chilling effect on “truthful, non-misleading speech” protected by the First Amendment, as it will reduce or eliminate book-signing events, like the ones Book Passage hosts hundreds of times each year.

. . . .

“The public is being swindled on a daily basis and the numbers are huge. I just can’t keep quiet when I see people I love being hurt,” Hamill toldThe Los Angeles Times in 2016 as the bill was working its way through the legislature.

Link to the rest at Reason and thanks to Lucy for the tip.

12 thoughts on “Bookstores Suffer Unintended Consequences From Mark Hamill’s Campaign Against Fake Autographs”

  1. There’s also the problem that if someone’s forging autographs, there’s nothing to stop them from forging certificates of authenticity. It’s not like anyone is going to check the info on them (or in most cases, it’s not like they even could). I get that an actor was upset about people making money by faking his signature–who wouldn’t be?–but come on. I also find it odd that he defends it by saying he hates seeing people hurt. No one’s being hurt, aside from maybe the person whose signature is being forged. At least not hurt enough for legislation to make any sense. It’s a buyer beware situation. If you want to be sure the signature is authentic, get it from the famous person yourself. But if someone buys a signed thing and believes it’s real and it makes them happy, what’s the problem?

    Full disclosure: I’ve never quite understood the point of autographs. Other than a signed book, which is kind of neat but not something I’d pay a premium for, or as proof that you met someone, which means you’d get the autograph yourself so you know it’s real. Even in those cases, when I’ve gotten them, I’m often left with a feeling of, “That’s it? Now what do I do with this thing?”

    • In many instances, people are purchasing signed collectible meorabilia that were signed by celebrities who are no longer alive, so it is impossible to witness the person sign the item. Ad the purchaser is hurt because he/she is being defrauded by the seller, paying a significant premium for an item precisely because it was signed. An autographed baseball purportedly signed by Joe DiMaggio would probably sell for thousands of dollars if the signature is authentic. I can go buy a new baseball for a few dollars. The difference is all in the signature and the uniqueness it creates.

      • Understood, but I still say autograph collecting is a ‘buyer beware’ game. The government trying to regulate it–especially to this sort of level–is liable to be not very effective and certain to hurt more people than it helps.

        • But it’s California!
          Of course the government has to regulate it!
          There’s hardly anything left to regulate…

  2. Next week he’ll ‘clean up the internet’ to some unknown value of his idea of ‘clean’. (A walled garden where you can only see the state’s website should be safe enough.)

    And the week after that he’ll ban those in California from going to any state where gambling is allowed – after all, people have blown even more money doing that and come home with nothing to show for it (and all California money should stay in California.)

  3. Why don’t the authors just include a special holographic sticker of authenticity like JK Rowling does? Seems to be a simple solution that works just fine for her! No paperwork required.

    • It’s really easy to buy those from suppliers in China. They don’t care who they sell them to.

      • Darn it! Nothing is sacred. Personally, I would much rather see the autograph signed instead of buying a book that was pre-signed. That’s the only foolproof way to know what you’re getting.

  4. I remember watching a video interview with a musician – I want to say Sammy Hagar when he was in Van Halen but I’m old and forgetful – when they asked him if a picture supposedly signed by him was really his autograph and he said he couldn’t be sure because – like most of us – he doesn’t remember everyone he meets and everything he does and no one signs his name exactly the sane way every time.

    So my autographed copy of a book could be fake and even the author himself might not know it.

    And yet eBay is full of $$$$ items signed by whoever….

  5. In his book, Get A Life, William Shatner talks about donning a mask and visiting dealers’ rooms at sci fi conventions. He saw many autographed items and signed photos, and admits even he couldn’t tell which signatures were his and which were not.

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