Art, Cultural Heritage & Law: Tools to ID Primary Sources of Law

Art Law Centre, University of Geneva, ArThemis

• States it "is a fully searchable database containing case notes about art and cultural property disputes settled through alternative resolution methods or traditional judicial proceedings."
• Provides All Cases, a home screen keyword search feature, and additional search features such as:
  • Search by legal issue
  • Search by adopted solution
  • Search by type of object 

Coming in July 2024: Center for Art Law, Case Law Corner (new subscription, will be accessible through BLS proxy server)

• Case Law Corner tracks "lawsuits involving artworks, cultural property, artists’ estates, galleries" and more topics.

Interdisciplinary research consortium based at Maastricht University, Oxford University, University of Victoria at Wellington & University of Glasgow, Trafficking Culture: Encyclopedia

• States it "constitutes a preliminary source of case studies that reveal aspects of the transnational illicit trade in cultural objects."
• Provides All Entries, and supports browsing by:
  • Places
  • Subject

International Foundation for Art Law & Research, Art Law & Cultural Property: Case Law & Statutes

• BLS Library does not currently subscribe to International Cultural Property Ownership and Export Legislation (ICPOEL) + Case Law and Statutes, but BLS researchers can view a list of Case Law & Statutes arranged by these categories:
  • World War II-Era/Holocaust Related Art Loss
  • Cultural Property (Antiquities) Disputes Over Non-United States Property
  • United States Cultural Property
  • Art Theft (Other than World War II and Cultural Property Looting)
  • Other Ownership Title Disputes/Claims Including Conversion and Breach of Contract
  • Art Fraud, Attribution, Authenticity, Forgery, Libel, Defamatory Statements
  • Valuation/Appraisal
  • Copyright, Moral Rights and Other Issues

Below are sources to find recent U.S. case documents described in current legal news articles and case notes.

Subscription sources:

Bloomberg Law (subscription): On home screen in box "Popular Links," click: Dockets

• BLS students: This is your most comprehensive, searchable collection of documents filed in U.S. federal court cases.  State court dockets coverage varies by state. 
• BLS students, faculty and administrators: To obtain a Bloomberg Law account, click here & register with your BLS email. 
  • You do not need an activation code, but you do need to wait for a reply email from Bloomberg Law before you can activate your new account.

Lexis+ (subscription): Briefs, Pleadings & Motions

Westlaw (subscription): Briefs

Free sources:

Supreme Court of the United States (publicly accessible) > tab: Case Documents

U.S. federal court website links

U.S. state court website links

Art, Entertainment & Sports Law Secondary Sources in Westlaw (accessible to a researcher w/ a Westlaw username/password) includes:

Darraby on Art Law (w/ Feb. 2023 update) by Alexandra Darraby.  Content highlights state: "This treatise provides expert commentary and analysis of the laws and issues applicable to visual arts, arts transactions, museums, and litigation." 

• TIP: Darraby's Table of Contents lists the chapters in this treatise.  At the beginning of each chapter, there are Research References w/ links to U.S. cases in Westlaw classified under specific West Digest Topics/Key Numbers. 
• TIP: Footnotes in chapters of Darraby link to many primary sources of law, such as federal laws in United States Code Annotated.  
• TIP: Appendices to Darraby provide selected primary sources of law, including U.S. federal and state statutes (either full-text laws or excerpts).  Appendices sometimes link to current versions of annotated laws and regulations in Westlaw.  If there are no links, researchers can enter the citation to, or title of, a primary source provided by Darraby in Westlaw's main screen search box.  BLS researchers also can email: askthelibrary@brooklaw.edu or text: (718) 734-2432 for help finding an up-to-date version of a primary source of law.  
  • Appendix 1. United States Constitution and Amendments
  • Appendix 2. National Surveys and State Art Statutes, which includes:
    • Appendix 2A: National Survey of State Laws: Art Definitions
    • Appendix 2B. National Survey of State Laws: Artist Definitions
    • Appendix 2C. National Survey of State Laws: Art Consignment and Art Merchants
    • Appendix 2D. National Survey of State Laws: Auctioneering
    • Appendix 2E. National Survey of State Laws: Artists' Rights
    • Appendix 2F. National Survey of State Laws: Multiples (Prints, Sculptures, and Media
  • Appendix 3. Uniform Commercial Code
  • Appendix 4. Internal Revenue Service and Valuation 
  • Appendix 5. International Art Laws
  • Appendix 6. Looted and Stolen Art: Restitution, Nazi and Holocaust
  • Appendix 7. Immunity from Seizure: Federal and State
  • Appendix 8. Copyright: Federal
  • Appendix 9. Copyright: International Conventions, Treaties, Directives
  • Appendix 10. Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990
  • Appendix 11. Artist Resale Royalty
  • Appendix 12. Rights of Publicity and Privacy: State Laws
  • Appendix 13. Federal Trademark
  • Appendix 14. Archaeological Resources, Artifacts, and Native American Graves
  • Appendix 15. Historic Preservation
  • Appendix 16. Architecture and Buildings
  • Appendix 17. Prints, Sculptures, Multiples, Sculpture Editions, Print Editions
  • Appendix 18. Crimes
  • Appendix 19. U.S. Legislation