Feature of the Month: Art and Auction Market
As uncertain times in the global economy remain, a haven for growth and investment has been the global art market. Wealth managers have taken notice of this trend with 43% of them indicating that art and collectibles are important for their diversification strategy. The global art investment fund market increased by 69% last year. This is largely due to the emerging role that the Chinese are playing in the market. Although Chinese art for the previous year is down, the trend has been positive for the previous 10 years as more Chinese art hits the market and more buyers emerge from China.
Latin America and Russia are also playing an increasing role in the global art market. The contemporary art market has seen a boom of late all over the world. Latin American modern and contemporary art has sparked global interest. Sales of artwork from 2011-2012 were up 25% in Latin America. Russian art has experienced much of the same as sales have risen about 18% over the same period. Shifting the focus to the western world, sales of contemporary art from the U.S. and Europe have returned to pre-financial crisis levels. Experts expect this trend to either remain stable or perhaps grow in 2013. With art being a luxury good, the emergence of the world from the economic crisis of 2008 appears to indicate future growth for the global art and auction market. In terms of consumption and production, art is also gaining importance in the emerging markets of South America and Asia. Whether it is for personal or portfolio reasons, the art market is almost certain to expand.
Featured Resources
A-CAPPP: Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection Program
The Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection Program (A-CAPPP) is an academic body focused on the global issue of anti-counterfeiting and product protection. The site includes the organization's current research initiatives, counterfeiting-related webinars and presentations, and an A-CAPPP paper series.
Categories: Trade Law
Compendium of Trade Laws
Produced by the member law firms of Lexwork International, this Compendium provides trade law summaries for over 30 jurisdictions prepared by law firms located there. Includes most significant U.S. trading partners. An excellent resource for companies intending to do business in foreign countries and some U.S. states. Summaries are listed below with the marking "a Lexwork International exclusive."
Categories: Trade Law
globalEDGE Business Reviews
Product Counterfeiting in Michigan and the Expectations and Priorities for State and Local Law Enforcement: Assessing the Awareness of and Response to the Problem
by John Spink and Justin Heinonen (Volume 6, Number 3, pp. 1-2, 2012)
The crime of product counterfeiting is growing in scope, scale, and threat.
These threats impact Michigan residents, as they do others throughout the U.S. and the world. This Backgrounder presents results of a survey that questioned residents on their purchases of counterfeit products, their opinions on priorities for law enforcement, and their use of the Internet to purchase medicines.
Product Counterfeiting in Australia
by John Spink (Volume 5, Number 4, pp. 1-2, 2011)
Australia faces the same product counterfeiting challenges as the rest of the
world. The problem is extremely varied, quickly evolves, is often hard to detect, and provides great challenges in data gathering. Though much of the counterfeit products are manufactured in Asian countries, there is a sizeable amount produced within Australia, with growing evidence of ties to organized crime. The legal framework supports trademarks and intellectual property rights and conviction rates run as high as 80 percent for those who are charged.
