Court of Appeals upholds California art resale law

Artists in California have won an important legal victory that could have national significance, Monitor correspondent Brad Knickerbocker reports. The US Court of Appeals, ruling on a suit brought by a Los Angeles art dealer, has upheld the state's resale royalties act. Under the law, enacted in 1976 and the first of its kind in the country, artists must receive 5 percent of the profit whenever their works are resold in California. The law applies to paintings, drawings, or sculpture worth more than $1,000. The National Conference of State Legislators recently formed an arts task force, and other states now are expected to follow California's lead.