815 ILCS 345/ Fine Prints Disclosure Act. - Illinois Statutes

(815 ILCS 345/0.01) (from Ch. 121 1/2, par. 360)     Sec. 0.01. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Fine Prints Disclosure Act. (Source: P.A. 86‑1324.)

(815 ILCS 345/1) (from Ch. 121 1/2, par. 361)     Sec. 1. Definitions.     As used in this Act:     "Fine print" includes, but is not limited to, an engraving, etching, woodcut, lithograph or serigraph.     "Plate" is used in lieu of and to denote "plate, stone, block or other material used for such purposes" from which prints can be made.     Whether a print is "signed" or "unsigned", as these terms are used in this Act, depends upon whether the artist autographed the finished print, irrespective of whether it was signed or unsigned in the plate.     "Artist" refers to the person who conceived or created the master image for, or which served as a model for, the print. (Source: P. A. 77‑1398.)

(815 ILCS 345/2) (from Ch. 121 1/2, par. 362)     Sec. 2.     Nothing in this Act applies to any print when offered for sale or sold at wholesale or retail unframed for $50 or less, or framed for $60 or less. (Source: P. A. 77‑1398.)

(815 ILCS 345/3) (from Ch. 121 1/2, par. 363)     Sec. 3.     This Act applies only to fine prints which are printed after July 1, 1972. (Source: P. A. 77‑1398.)

(815 ILCS 345/4) (from Ch. 121 1/2, par. 364)     Sec. 4.     Nothing in this title applies to prints sold by the artist who produced the same directly to a consumer, without the intervention of a wholesale or retail merchant. (Source: P. A. 77‑1398.)

(815 ILCS 345/5) (from Ch. 121 1/2, par. 365)     Sec. 5.     No catalogue, prospectus or circular offering fine prints for sale in this State shall be knowingly published or distributed, or both, unless it clearly and conspicuously discloses the relevant informational detail concerning each edition of such prints so offered as required by Section 7.     If the person offering such prints by means of such publication disclaims knowledge as to any relevant detail required by Section 7, he shall so state specifically and categorically with regard to each such detail to the end that the purchaser shall be enabled to judge the degree of uniqueness or scarcity of each print contained in the edition so offered. Describing the edition as an edition of "reproductions" eliminates the need to furnish further informational details unless such edition was allegedly published in a signed, numbered, or limited edition, or any combination thereof, in which case all of the informational details are required to be furnished. (Source: P. A. 77‑1398.)

(815 ILCS 345/6) (from Ch. 121 1/2, par. 366)     Sec. 6.     No fine print or prints shall be knowingly offered for sale or sold in this state by any person, at wholesale or at retail, unless a written invoice or receipt for the purchase price or a certificate furnished to the purchaser clearly and conspicuously discloses all of the relevant informational details required by Section 7.     If the seller disclaims knowledge as to any relevant detail referred to in Section 7, he shall so state specifically and categorically with regard to each such detail to the end that the purchaser shall be enabled to judge the degree of uniqueness or scarcity of such print or prints. Describing the print as a "reproduction" eliminates the need to furnish further informational details unless it was allegedly published in a signed, numbered, or limited edition, or any combination thereof, in which case all of the informational details are required to be furnished. (Source: P. A. 77‑1398.)

(815 ILCS 345/7) (from Ch. 121 1/2, par. 367)     Sec. 7.     The following informational detail shall be required:     a. The name of the artist and the year when printed.     b. Whether the print is an etching, engraving, woodcut, lithograph, or whether the seller does not know.     c. Exclusive of trial proofs, whether the edition is being offered as a limited edition, and, if such a limited edition, the total size of the edition.     d. Whether the plate has been destroyed, effaced, altered, defaced or canceled after the current edition, or whether the seller does not know.     e. If there were any prior editions from the same plate, the series number of the current edition and the total size of all prior editions.     f. Whether the edition is a posthumous edition or restrike and, if so, whether the plate has been reworked.     g. The name of the workshop, if any, which printed the edition. (Source: P. A. 77‑1398.)

(815 ILCS 345/8) (from Ch. 121 1/2, par. 368)     Sec. 8.     a. A person who offers or sells a fine print in violation of this Act shall be liable to the person purchasing such fine print from him. The purchaser may sue to recover the consideration paid for such print, with interest at the legal rate thereon, upon the tender of the print.     b. In any case in which a person willfully offers or sells a fine print in violation of this Act, the person purchasing such fine print may recover from the person who offers or sells such fine print an amount equal to 3 times the amount required under paragraph (a) of this Section.     c. No action shall be maintained to enforce any liability under this Section unless brought within one year after discovery of the violation upon which it is based and in no event more than 3 years after the print was sold. (Source: P. A. 77‑1398.)

(815 ILCS 345/9) (from Ch. 121 1/2, par. 369)     Sec. 9.     Any person violating this Act is guilty of a business offense and shall be fined not more than $1,000.     Proof that no person has been misled or deceived or otherwise damaged by any violation of this Act shall not constitute a defense in any prosecution under this Act. (Source: P. A. 78‑255.)