Wind of Change – Part 1: Restitution, France

by Jessica | Mar 12, 2013 | Art Law, Art Lawyer, Restitution

Restitution claims and cultural heritage claims seem to be gathering pace. After years of rather slow progress on these fronts, these stories now seem to be hitting the news on a regular basis. Could it be “the times they are a changin’?” The French Minister of...

Raphael – Renaissance Record-Breaker – £29.7 Million

by Jessica | Dec 10, 2012 | Art Law, Art Lawyer, Auction Sales, Renaissance

Following on from the rather sensational record sale for any artwork, Edvard Munch’s 1895 “The Scream” that sold in a Sotheby’s Sale in New York earlier this year for nearly $120 million that had tremendous publicity with a stunning short film that certainly racked up...

Cultural Heritage Claims Get Political Over One Of The Seven Wonder’s Of The World – Statutes From The Halicarnassus

by Jessica | Dec 10, 2012 | Art Law, Art Lawyer, Cultural Heritage, Disputed Title, Restitution

In what has been a steady and systematic push by the Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Ertugrul Gunay on the restitution of cultural artefacts from museums of the world, has now culminated in a legal test case due to be lodged before the European Court of Human...

As Indy would say: “This belongs in a museum…”

by Jessica | Dec 9, 2012 | Art Law, Art Lawyer, Cultural Heritage, Film

A real Indiana Jones brings a legal action against the movie makers of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull The best stories are usually based on true stories and this is one of the more exciting legal cases to hit Hollywood this week, where a real life...

Orphan Works Update – Photography Organisations become vocal and raise concerns about UK proposed changes to Copyright laws and the new EU Directive

by Jessica | Dec 5, 2012 | Art Law, Art Lawyer, Copyright, Photography

It is reported by the British Journal of Photography and the Association of Photographers that major concerns are being raised by a number of Arts institutions about the provisions in Clause 68 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, that is now before the House...

Porn Industry beaten to the punch

by Jessica | Dec 5, 2012 | Art Law, Art Lawyer, Copyright, Film

According to Reuters and Courthouse News Service, Hollywood’s Universal City Studios and Fifty Shades Ltd on 27th November 2012 have brought a copyright, trademark infringement and common law unfair competition case against Smash Pictures and a number of individuals...