Journals
Tuesday,Oct 28 2008, 04:46:32 PMFine Art Registry® Press Release
David Phillips, Fine Art Registry
206-420-8341
www.fineartregistry.com
dphillips@fineartregistry.com
Fine Art Registry® Wins Mediation on Domain Name Violation
Against Park West Gallery Hired PR Consultants
(Phoenix, AZ, USA — October 27, 2008) On October 22nd, 2008, the World Intellectual Property Organization Arbitration and Mediation Center ruled in favor of Fine Art Registry and against Park West and its hired PR practitioners in an important case of domain name misappropriation where Park West Gallery consultants had set up a website "aboutfineartregistry.com" for the purpose of slandering Fine Art Registry and advancing their own commercial ends, as detailed in the Administrative Panel Decision, Fine Art Registry versus Cartoon Heaven (Cartoon Heaven being the cover under which the website was set up and operated).
The Notification of Decision document published by the Swiss-based WIPO states:
"For all the foregoing reasons, in accordance with paragraphs
4(i) of the Policy and 15 of the Rules, the Panel orders that the
Domain Name
[The Complainant in the case was Fine Art Registry who filed a formal Complaint with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center when it discovered that its trademark was being used in bad faith as part of a domain name for a website controlled by Park West Gallery designed to slander and disparage Fine Art Registry and promote itself and its associates.]
Fine Art Registry provided WIPO with detailed evidence that the libelous propaganda being disseminated on this website was being generated primarily by Park West surrogate Louis Postel, a freelance design writer, and Tracy Payne and Julia Genatossio of Monsoon Vermont (a PR company) and that all of these were linked with Park West Gallery. The Respondents in this case compounded their guilt by never answering the Panel's communications nor making themselves available for the mediation. WIPO found that the unauthorized use of the trademark along with utilizing false information in registering the domain name was clear evidence of bad faith.
On receiving the WIPO decision, Fine Art Registry victory, Don Lenkszus, of Donald J. Lenkszus, PC, an Intellectual Property attorney with 33 years experience who represented FAR® in the WIPO proceedings said, "It has been my experience that good and trustworthy businesses do not resort to illegal and/or bad faith activities. That is particularly important with respect to businesses where the customers place great reliance on the good faith of a seller. The decision of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) supports my experience. The decision of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is consistent with its prior holdings that organizations such as Park West cannot shield themselves from being called out as acting in bad faith when they misappropriate and misuse the valid trademarks of others."
And Lawrence C. Atorthy of Kaufman, Payton & Chapa, Michigan based law firm representing Fine Art Registry in its court case against Park West Gallery, had the following to say:
"The decision of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) reinforces what Fine Art Registry has been saying through its website and throughout its litigation with Park West Gallery, Inc. The WIPO has ruled that Park West, apparently acting through its proxies, misappropriated and misused the registered mark of Fine Art Registry and engaged in a deliberate campaign to smear FAR, its most vocal critic. This ruling raises some peculiar questions, such as why Park West would misappropriate Fine Art Registry's mark at the same time it accuses Fine Art Registry of defamation? This ruling is doubtlessly a vindication of Fine Art Registry business practices. At the same time, it is a resounding condemnation of business practices in which the WIPO concluded that Park West engaged. We believe the federal court litigation brought by Park West will conclude similarly."
Fine Art Registry CEO, Theresa Franks was delighted with the WIPO Administrative Panel decision. "This vindicates our position," she said. "We will continue to investigate and report our findings and try to help those victims of Park West Gallery abuses who come to us for assistance."
The full findings and decision can be read here: Fine Art Registry® wins arbitration over Park West's Trademark Infringement
ABOUT FINE ART REGISTRY:
Fine Art Registry® is 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. Fine Art Registry also
investigates and reports on art crime in its mission to help bring
order to the world of art. Full information on FAR® and how the system
of tagging and registering art is available at www.FineArtRegistry.com.
Tuesday,Oct 28 2008, 04:41:27 PMWhen Smear Campaigns Lie, they Backfire on the S..
Park West Gallery initiated a smear campaign against Fine Art Registry® to try to silence or discredit FAR® who was publishing a bit too much of the truth about Park West's operations to suit them. Now they have been, as Hamlet put it, "hoist with their own petard".
Hiring PR spin doctors to set up a website and to write and publish false, defamatory statements about Fine Art Registry backfired heavily on Park West Gallery when the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) conducted an impartial investigation into the violation of Fine Art Registry trademarks and found that the Park West PR people had registered a website domain in bad faith so as to benefit commercially by disparaging Fine Art Registry and promoting Park West Gallery and other art professionals. The Panelist who conducted the investigation ordered that the domain name in question, "aboutfineartregistry.com" be transferred to Fine Art Registry.
Much of this story was conducted behind the scenes. Thanks to expert help, Fine Art Registry was able to track down the miscreants, expose their ties to Park West Gallery and take swift action to close down the website with its covert slander.
The story goes back to July of this year when a number of slanderous articles, press releases and blogs began appearing, all attacking Fine Art Registry with vicious lies. These items of propaganda were rapidly traced back to Louis Postel, Tracy Payne, Julia Genatossio, Monsoon Vermont (PR company) and Guerilla PR Girlz, all in Jamaica, Vermont. It was not hard to find that all of these people or entities are or have been employed by Park West Gallery.
Since Park West's practices were being exposed by Fine Art Registry through a series of reports published which contained direct, first-hand stories of people being duped and ripped off by Park West auctioneers at cruise ship art "auctions", it was not a surprise that the propaganda published by these PR spin doctors and the aboutfineartregistry.com website was pro Park West, pro Park West hired appraiser Bernard Ewell and anti Fine Art Registry. It was an obvious attempt to discredit and silence FAR with lies.
Lies have a way of recoiling on the liar and the truth has an uncanny habit of poking its head up through the weeds and blooming vigorously, no matter how hard someone tries to keep it down.
Fine Art Registry has many friends. One of them was able to rapidly track down the sources of the smear campaign and document them and their links to Park West Gallery. It's quite a tale of intrigue all on its own and would probably make a good novel or movie. However, the real life connotations were very sinister, and demonstrate clearly the depths to which people who have something to hide will go in trying to destroy anyone who shines the spotlight of truth on them and their practices. They prefer to work in the dark.
Fine Art Registry instructed its Patent and Trademark attorney, Donald J. Lenkszus, PC, of Scottsdale, AZ, to take the necessary steps to deal with the trademark infringement, libel and slander. He contacted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, which deals with domain name disputes, who assigned a Panelist, W. Scott Blackmer, a veteran technology lawyer based in Washington DC, Brussells and Salt Lake City, to mediate the case (http://www.blackmerlaw.com/).
In the meantime, perhaps as a result of exposure from Fine Art Registry and independent observers, as well as the arbitration in progress, the websites, blogs, press releases and so on which comprised the Park West Gallery smear campaign against Fine Art Registry mysteriously disappeared one by one. Had the accusations been true, there would have been no need to remove them. Truth is its own defense. One great thing about the world wide web is the fact that you can go back in time and retrieve practically everything that has ever been on it. All the evidence is still available, no matter how hard the perpetrators try to hide it.
Landslide Victory for Fine Art Registry...
Wednesday,Oct 22 2008, 12:02:57 PMMore Truth for Park West Gallery...
and its Lone Dalí Authenticator, Bernard Ewell
by Theresa Franks 
The oldest, largest and most widely hailed auction houses in the world, Sotheby's and Christie's agree that the only definitive universal experts on the original works of Salvador Dali are Robert and Nicolas Descharnes of Paris, France.
In an e-mail (courtesy copy provided to FAR® by the Salvador Dalí Gallery to whom the email was directed), Mr. Jay Vincze, Director of Impressionist and Modern Art for Christie's confirmed that Robert and Nicolas Descharnes are the only experts in the world for the authentication of Salvador Dalí original works of art used by that auction house.
From: "Vincze, Jay"
Date: September 23, 2008 10:06:39 AM PDT
To: (Salvador Dalí Gallery)
Subject: Dalí authentication
Dear Sir
This is to confirm that, for the purposes of authenticating paintings,
sculptures and works on paper by Salvador Dalí, Christie's uses Robert
and Nicolas Descharnes.
I trust this is of use.
Yours sincerely
Jay Vincze
Director, Impressionist and Modern Art
Park West Gallery claims to sell authentic Salvador Dalí prints from the Albaretto collection aboard cruise ships and at land auctions and boasts a worldwide customer base. They frequently cite Bernard Ewell's expertise as evidence that the prints are genuine.
Bernard Ewell, an art appraiser by trade, boldly claims on his website that he is "the foremost authority on the art of Salvador Dalí." Park West make frequent claims that Bernard Ewell is the world’s leading authority on Salvador Dalí.
And yet, according to Robert Descharnes, Park West Gallery has never consulted with him or attempted to make contact regarding the legitimacy of the Albaretto/Dalí collection. And neither, to our knowledge, has Bernard Ewell.
Park West Gallery did not seek authentication expertise from the only recognized experts in the world in the authentication of Dalí’s original works. They likewise did not approach the Descharnes regarding the authenticity of the Dalí graphic works they bought from the Albaretto and related collections. The question is: Why haven't Park West Gallery or the Albarettos or Bernard Ewell sought the authentication expertise of the world’s recognized experts? We believe the answer is obvious. The question was in fact answered by Robert Descharnes himself who simply commented, "They [Park West Gallery] have never approached us. We know where they are at."
Ewell and Park West
Bernard Ewell explains his relationship with Park West as follows:
"One of my many gallery clients, Park West Gallery, is the exclusive buyer and seller of Dalí artworks and prints from the Albaretto Collection. I authenticate every artwork before they buy it. If I turn it down, they don’t purchase. I do not provide appraisals or values."
We happen to know that Park West Gallery has referred many claimants/victims to Bernard Ewell for an appraisal on the Albaretto/Dalí artwork he authenticated for Park West Gallery. We also know that Ewell charged Park West Gallery customers professional fees for his "expert" opinions.
Further, FAR has reviewed written evaluations authored by Ewell, where he does indeed provide "appraisals and values" on the Park West Gallery Albaretto/Dalí prints. Specifically, Bernard Ewell confirms that the Albaretto/Dalí prints sold by Park West Gallery have no secondary market value as no independent records on values exist (auction records or otherwise) outside the "retail sales pricing" assigned by Park West Gallery at the scores of pseudo-auctions it conducts. It should also be noted that Park West Gallery relies heavily on Bernard Ewell's authentication and especially so when refunds are demanded by dissatisfied customers from Park West Gallery for Albaretto/Dalí prints.
Park West Gallery relies on Bernard Ewell's authentication to promote and legitimize the Albaretto/Dalí prints. Despite all assertions of independence and integrity, it is quite clear that Bernard Ewell is Park West's Dalí authenticator. The major auction houses don't use him for expertise. In fact, it seems that the Albarettos and Park West are the only ones who turn to Ewell for authentication.
Thursday,Oct 2 2008, 07:47:15 PMAnother Park West Gallery Art Auction Rip-off
Stephen and Kimberly Wood tell how they were sold art which was
fraudulently overpriced by Park West at Sea on their honeymoon aboard the Royal Caribbean International cruise ship Mariner of the Seas in May 2007
(This continues the series of case studies of reported fraudulent misrepresentation and deceptive trade practices at art auctions conducted at sea on cruise ships.)
The following is a report of a rip-off by Park West of a couple who were on their honeymoon cruise aboard the Royal Caribbean cruise ship, Mariner of the Seas.
Passengers
Stephen Wood, Kimberly Kenaston-Wood of Salem, Oregon.Cruise line and ship and details of the cruise
Park West Auctioneer
Arthur Scheepers - arthurscheepers@yahoo.comWhat was bought?
Millennium Edition restrike of Rembrandt Van Rijn etching The Golf Player. This is a modern restrike made in the late 20th century, long after Rembrandt's death. Note: Rembrandt had no part in the production of the print that was sold to the Woods. He had been dead for centuries before it was made. According to Park West's own certificate of authenticity 2,500 examples of this etching were made. In fact, according to sources who have contacted Fine Art Registry®, Park West bought the copper plates from which these etchings were made and have the capability of producing as many of these etchings as they want to.The Woods paid a total of $3,153.25 for this etching
