Park West Faces New Squall

Park West Gallery can’t stay out of the news. Detroit’s Free Press reports that a Chilean artist is suing the company for reproducing his work without permission even though he seems to have sold the rights to another dealer/publisher:

Perez, an international artist who specializes in contemporary realist art, said he contracted in 1996 with Rami Rotkopf, a Ft. Lauderdale art dealer and founder of Smart Publishers of Fine Art, to promote and sell his artwork.

In the suit, Perez alleges Smart Publishers assigned his contract to Park West without his permission, and Park West began reproducing and selling his artwork at land-based and cruise ship auctions, in some cases with a forged signature. Perez, in the suit, accuses both of copyright infringement.

“This is a totally ridiculous lawsuit,” said Park West lawyer Rodger Young of Southfield. He said Park West won a defamation suit in Florida against Perez about three years ago preventing him from saying anything adverse about the company.