The Velvet Underground and the Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts have settled their lawsuit over the right to control iconic “banana” image from the cover of the 1967 legendary The Velvet Underground and Nico album. An earlier September 7, 2012 ruling for the Warhol Foundation finding that that the Velvet Underground had agreed not to sue… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Subscribe to Uncategorized RSS FeedRutgers Law Review Article Advocates Replacing Restitution Litigation with Prosecutions
Posted in UncategorizedThe Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion has published a provocative article that advocates a bold new take on Holocaust art restitution litigation. The thesis of the piece is easily gleaned from its title: “Nazi Looted Art and Cocaine: When Museum Directors Take It, Call the Cops.” In a nutshell, the article argues that if… Continue Reading
Second Lawsuit Against Metropolitan Museum of Art About Admissions Policy
Posted in Museums, UncategorizedFor the second time in less than four months, a complaint has been filed against the Metropolitan Museum of Art over its admissions fee policy. Whereas the November, 2012 action seeks injunctive relief to compel the Met to change its practices, the newest case has been filed as a class action and seeks money damages as well. … Continue Reading
FBI Claims to Know Identity of Gardner Thieves, Timing Deserves Scrutiny
Posted in Museums, UncategorizedThe FBI issued a press release today in which it states that with a “high degree” of confidence, it has identified the thieves responsible for the 1990 theft from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. This development is remarkable for what it says, and what it does not, and deserving of a skeptical view… Continue Reading
Art and Heritage Disputes at the University of Maastricht
Posted in Cultural Property, Restitution, UncategorizedOn March 24-25, 2013, I will be attending the Art and Heritage Disputes at the University of Maastricht. The seminar website is here: On March 25, I will speak on the topic “American Wartime Art Restitution in the 1990s and Beyond-Has it All Been Worth It?” The program highlights many other experts I look forward… Continue Reading
Does Jenack Decision Really Require Disclosure of Seller’s Name? Yes, if the Buyer Won’t Pay
Posted in UncategorizedThe Jenack decision addressed recently at the Art Law Report has been the subject of intense comment and criticism since being widely reported. Donn Zaretsky’s roundup of the commentary raises an interesting and important question, with analysis from Jonathan Olsoff of Sotheby’s and Jo Laird, former general counsel at Christie’s. Namely, does the decision actually… Continue Reading
New Perspective on Senate Bill 2212
Posted in Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Senate Bill 2212, UncategorizedOur prior commentary has expressed support for Senate Bill 2212, the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act. The bill remains stalled in the Senate Judicary Committee. A new post last week by Nikki Georgopulos at plundered art (one of our favorite resources) takes a very well-written, opposing view. A must-read for the well-informed on… Continue Reading
Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Amendment Coverage Continues to Miss the Mark: NPR Report Claims Bill Could “Thwart Return of Holocaust Art”
Posted in Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, Legislation, Restitution, Senate Bill 2212, Uncategorized, World War IIIs it time to invoke the Corollary to Godwin’s Law of Nazi Analogies (i.e., as a discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler increases, and once this occurs, that thread is over, and whoever mentioned the Nazis has automatically the argument ) concerning Senate Bill 2212, the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional… Continue Reading
Commentary Takes Shape on S.B. 2212, the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act
Posted in Collections, Customs, Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Restitution, Senate Bill 2212, Uncategorized, World War IIIt’s been a few weeks since the House passed the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act (H.R. 4086) and sent it on to the Senate for consideration as S.B. 2212. It has bipartisan sponsorship there (Dianne Feinstein and Orrin Hatch), but no word yet on when it will be put to a vote. As… Continue Reading
Von Saher claim against Norton Simon Museum dismissed as preempted under foreign affairs doctrine.
Posted in Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Restitution, Uncategorized, World War IIRaising another hurdle to restitution claims, the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles against the Norton Simon Museum to the remnants of the famed Jacques Goudstikker collection, on the grounds that her case is preempted by the United States’ foreign affairs doctrine. In an unusually apologetic decision, the court ruled that regardless of the merits… Continue Reading
Sullivan & Worcester LLP Art and Estate Planning Panel With Citi Private Bank Postponed
Posted in UncategorizedThe joint panel presentation by Sullivan & Worcester LLP’s Art and Museum Law Group (home of your Art Law Report) and Citi Private Bank next Wednesday, April 11, 2012 in Boston that I was scheduled to moderate with Cornelius J. Murray, III, Trust & Estates Practice Chair, Sullivan & Worcester LLP; Suzanne Gyorgy, Head of Art… Continue Reading
Tacheles Emptied and Scheduled for Destruction—End of the Original Occupy Movement
Posted in UncategorizedI can’t let today’s news about the Kunsthaus Tacheles in Berlin go unremarked. A center for art and culture since the fall of the Berlin Wall, it has apparently ordered vacated, with occupants carried out by force. Ironically, it’s really about a story about art and the absence of a legal framework, a building in… Continue Reading
The Art Law Report at ALI-ABA Legal Issues in Museum Administration 2012
Posted in UncategorizedI’ll be at the ALI-ABA Legal Issues in Museum Administration next week in San Francisco March 19-21. I’ve been perusing the coursebooks this morning, and as usual they do not disappoint. It promises to be a fascinating three days as always, and any time in San Francisco is well worth it. If you’ve been… Continue Reading
Cariou Files Appeals Brief—Is this Case Less Transformative Than It Seemed?
Posted in Copyright, Intellectual Property, UncategorizedPatrick Cariou has filed his much-anticipated responsive brief in the Richard Prince/Gagosian Gallery copyright infringement appeal. Cariou’s brief makes its stand on the question of transformative use. The degree to which a derivative work is transformative of a protected work is, of course, a central element of a fair use analysis about which Prince will have to persuade… Continue Reading
Federal Legislation Proposed for Artists’ Resale Royalties
Posted in Legislation, UncategorizedIn place of rumored legislative efforts last summer, legislation has been formally introduced to codify under U.S. federal law droite de suite rights of resale for artists, under certain circumstances. Apart from California—whose California Resale Royalty Act has been in the news recently for lawsuits against Christie’s, Sotheby’s and eBay—the United States generally affords artists… Continue Reading
Ellis Boston Begins Today
Posted in UncategorizedThe Ellis Boston Antiques Show begins today. I will be on a panel on Friday night, October 21, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. entitled “Essentials for the New Collector” about collecting antiques and fine art in today’s market. I will be joined by PBS “Antiques Roadshow” appraiser Colleene Fesko and John Fiske, Editor of New England Antiques Journal. … Continue Reading
Welcome to the Art Law Report!
Posted in UncategorizedWe are pleased to have you at the first thread of the Art Law Report, a new blog dedicated to the commentary of Nicholas O’Donnell and the Art & Museum Law Group of Sullivan & Worcester LLP. I spent some time in the art historical world before becoming a civil litigator several years ago, and… Continue Reading
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