Art Law and Cultural Policy

Prof. Vik Kanwar

Spring 2015

Course Description
This is the first comprehensive seminar in art law and cultural policy offered in India, and students will
help towards mapping the Indian context even as they study global issues and standards. Integrally
related to intellectual property, art law encompasses the complexities of international law, contract law,
and constitutional law. This seminar will examine the intersection between the law and the art world, a
complex world of individuals, institutions, and expressive works. We will explore some of the legal
issues associated with those intersections and relationships. Using India as a case study, the seminar
will examine participants roles, including artists; art patrons and consumers; art dealers and auction
houses; government officials; art experts, such as museums, historians, and critics; as well as forgers,
thieves, and looters. We will analyze the relationships between art institutions and those who produce,
collect, protect, and "deal" in art. The substance of the course is an exploration of legal issues, including
but not limited to, expressive rights, intellectual property, and moral and economic rights. The course
will also focus on the international movement of art in times of peace and war, as well as the
preservation and protection of art and cultural property.
20% Class Presentation: 20 minute presentation on one of the core topics listed below, or an approved
topic decided by the student and instructor.
30% Research Memo: this involves either original research or substantive revision of the Art Law
Sourcebook. The score will be based on the degree of original research or evidence-based approach.
50% Take-Home Exam: This will be an integrative essay pulling together and comparing conceptions of
art in separate legal regimes, or the role of law across artistic endeavors. This need not involve original
research, but students may opt to attempt a fuller, research-based approach to the questions to merit
inclusion in a future edition of the Art Law Sourcebook.
Note on Attendance and Participation: Points lost in any of the categories above may be regained
through consistent class participation, which may account for up to five marks added to the class
presentation score. Aside from attendance and active participation in class discussions, students may
demonstrate this engagement through participating in relevant and thoughtful ways to our closed
Facebook group (random spamming of the group will not work for this purpose). University policies and
UGC guidelines concerning attendance will be followed.
Topics

Topic one: What is Art? What is Art Law? What is the Art World? What is the Art
Market?
Topic two: When is Art Defined or Protected by the Law?

Topic three: Censorship Law And Theory I: The Artists Right to Free Expression: Defining
Art as a Protected Sphere
Topic four: Censorship Law And Theory II: Limit Issues in Obscenity, Child Pornography,
Hate Speech, Community Sentiments, Feminist Critique
Topic five: Intellectual Property In Art I: Moral Rights of Artists
Topic six: Intellectual Property In Art II: Copyright Law and the Problem Of
Postmodernism
Topic seven: Right of Publicity, Theories of Authorship and Ownership
Topic eight: The Art Market, and More Practical Concerns
Topic nine: Art Crime: Authentication and Fraud, Heists, Fakes, Vandalism
Topic ten: Art as an Object of Cultural Policy: Public Institutions, Museums and
Governance
Topic eleven: Cultural Heritage, Looted Art, Art In War, Treaties

Readings
The core text of the Art Law and Cultural Policy is a Textbook/Sourcebook assembled by the first class in
2013. The following topics comprise the textbook, and students in the 2015 edition will be responsible
for editorial tasks on the Sourcebook.
The following Table of Contents is indicative of readings and topics:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.

Art Worlds, Art Markets, and Art Law: an Introduction

The Artist-Dealer Relations
Artist-Gallery Fiduciary Obligations
Dissecting Copyright
Performers Rights
Trademark Protection for Artists
The Art Market and Resale Royalty Rights
Resale Royalty Rights and First Sale Doctrine
Moral Rights of Artists
Personality Rights of Non-Individual Artists
Legal Rights and Duties of Museums
Antiquities Looting and Smuggling
Protection of Cultural Heritage and Art
Smuggling of Cultural Property: Transnational Frameworks
Art Vandalism and the Law
Restriction of Free Speech and the Impact on Artwork
Pornography as Art, Obscenity and Crime
Flag Art: Case Study in the Comparative Freedom of Expression

Supplemental Readings
1. Alison Young Judging the Image Art, Value, Law (2005)
2. Amy Adler, Against Moral Rights (article)

3. Don Thompson, The $12 Million Stuffed Shark The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art
(2008)
4. James A. R. Nafziger, Robert Kirkwood Paterson, Alison Dundes Renteln Cultural Law
International, Comparative, and Indigenous (2010)
5. Julian Stallabrass Art Incorporated The Story of Contemporary Art 2004 (2007)
6. Kit White 101 Things to Learn in Art School (2011)
7. Michael Findlay, The Value of Art (2012
8. Paul Virilio, Art and Fear
9. Ravi Sundaram Pirate Modernity Delhis Media Urbanism (2010)
10. Sarah Thornton, Seven Days in the Art World
11. Stefano Manacorda, Duncan Chappell (eds.) Crime in the Art and Antiquities World- Illegal
Trafficking in Cultural Property (2011)
Sample Web Links:
1. Official Class Page: http://artlawclass.tumblr.com/
2. http://www.artlawgallery.com/2014/02/articles/intellectual-property-copyright-and-moralrights/aint-nothing-like-the-real-thing-despite-forgery-scandals-the-fine-art-market-is-booming/
3. The high-stakes game of art authentication, BBC, http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20140325high-stakes-in-hunt-for-fake-art
4. The
Devil
and
the
Art
Dealer,
Vanity
Fair
(April
2014)
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2014/04/degenerate-art-cornelius-gurlitt-munichapartment
5. How countries are successfully using the law to get looted cultural treasures back.
http://www.abajournal.com/mobile/mag_article/how_countries_are_successfully_using_the_la
w_to_get_looted_cultural_treasur/
6. Amy F. Altman , Art Law Part 1: From Eagles to Ivory, The Art of Lost Value Law.com (12-May2014) http://www.law.com/sites/amyfaltman/2014/05/12/art-law-part-1-from-eagles-to-ivorythe-art-of-lost-value/?slreturn=20140906014525
Sample Videos
1. Richard Lehun, A 15 minute introduction to key art law & business issues for emerging artists:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3BGr1ZBefM
2. Judith Prowda, A 15 minute introduction to copyright for anyone involved in the visual arts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT5Ynmd5KoI
Further Information
A sample class is available at the following link:
http://www.slideshare.net/vikkanwar/art-law-introductory-class-2013