Law

Lawnews

New York court rules Call of Duty video game as art

The gaming publisher Activision is protected under the First Amendment to use the Humvee vehicle brand “if realism is an artistic goal"

Christie's settles $16.7m in tax claims with New York District Attorney

Manhattan prosecutors say the auction house failed to collect sales tax on $189m in private sales over five years

US copyright law comes under scrutiny as new legislation makes its way before Congress

A planned new mediation system, which aims to streamline copyright breach claims in the US, has loopholes that could deny artists justice, critics say

Lawnews

Supreme Court rules film-maker cannot sue North Carolina for copyright infringement

Opinion finds Congress overstepped its authority with 1990 federal statute, but allowed for a new law to "stop states from behaving as copyright pirates"

Portuguese judge orders seizure of all assets owned by African art collector Isabel dos Santos in the country

Move is intended to stall the sales of stakes in multi-million-Euro companies based in Portugal

Lawcomment

The US Supreme Court’s silence on Nazi art theft fails Holocaust survivors

Last week’s decision to reject an appeal over the ownership of Picasso’s The Actor was a missed opportunity to clarify the limitations of the 2016 HEAR Act

Banksynews

Charges dropped against South African billionaire over allegedly fraudulent Banksy deal

Martin Levick had been accused of duping an investor into lending him $3.5m for the purchase of the work

Lawnews

Mary Boone sued by former director for withholding wages and ‘misappropriating’ more than $10m

The dealer allegedly had Gagosian gallery wire millions into her personal account for the sale of a Brice Marden painting to pay off tax penalties before she went to jail

Lawnews

France reconfirms that women baring their breasts in public is illegal—even for artists and protestors

Two women who are part of the Ukrainian feminist group Femen were charged for topless protests, one of which was in a Paris museum

Italynews

Steve Bannon wins again in battle against Italian ministry of culture

President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist wants to set up a nationalist bootcamp in an Italian monastery

Art marketanalysis

When artists and galleries split, what are the legal implications?

As successful artists increasingly seek non-exclusive contracts with multiple galleries, clarity becomes critical in navigating splits between artist and gallery

Uffizi wins legal battle against 'cybersquatter' owner of Uffizi.com domain name

The unofficial websites were used to sell tickets to the Florentine museum at inflated prices

Lawnews

New York dealer sues artist Derek Fordjour for $1.45m

Gallery owner and real estate investor Robert Blumenthal claims the artist failed to deliver seven works promised in a $20,000 deal made in 2014

Lawnews

San Francisco artist sues Disney for copying her ‘tremendously cool’ painted van in Pixar film

Sweet Cecily Daniher rented her unicorn decorated vehicle to the studio for a party, only to find out its doppelganger will appear in the animated movie Onward

New York judge dismisses further counterclaims made by Robert Indiana's estate against Morgan Art Foundation

The decision follows a similar ruling made last July in which the estate’s counterclaims of non-payment of royalties and unauthorised reproductions were dismissed

Tate privacy battle over viewing platform 'snooping' goes back to court

Claimant says she feels “completely exposed” in her apartment overlooked by the museum

Lawnews

Artist pleads guilty to assault and harassment charges in domestic violence case

As part of plea agreement, Tobias Madison must attend a 26-week batterers’ programme and attend weekly therapy sessions to have his criminal record cleared in a year’s time

Supreme Court delays Guelph Treasure appeal so US government can add its views to case

The German state museum agency has argued that it cannot be sued in American courts by heirs of Jewish dealers who sold the works during the Holocaust

Luanda Leaks: Isabel dos Santos—who owns vast African art collection—accused of making her $2.2bn fortune by exploiting Angola

Dos Santos and her husband Sindika Dokolo own around 3,000 works by artists including William Kentridge and Zanele Muholi

Why do courts lack conviction in art cases?

Collapse of Bulmer theft case is just the latest in string of failed art-related convictions

Tough UK anti-money laundering law comes into force tomorrow—here's what you need to know

A lawyer's advice to art dealers, agents and galleries who could be unprepared for the hastily enforced new regulations

New evidence cited in restitution claim for Panama Papers Modigliani

Dealer Oscar Stettiner’s grandson says painting, now owned by David Nahmad, was looted by Nazis

'A victory of justice over big money': criminal case against art dealer Yves Bouvier dismissed by Monaco court

Verdict is likely to have a domino effect on all other cases filed by Russian billionaire collector Dmitry Rybolovlev

Judicial review of UK Ivory Act rejected

After months of fundraising to bring legal action, judge dismisses antiques trade's objections to upcoming ban

Lawnews

Who really owns this Schiele watercolour Portrait of the Artist's Wife?

A three-way battle is brewing in New York courts as the heirs of two Holocaust victims take on the work’s current owner

Lawnews

A 13-year fight over cardboard: Kippenberger restoration drama finally comes to a close

Inadvertent damage to paintings’ frames triggered a drawn-out, multi-million dollar lawsuit

US House of Representatives passes an anti-money laundering bill that could affect art and antiquities dealers

Introduced in March, the Counter Act is the latest legislation that faces dealers with financial regulatory burden

Hollywood executive Ron Meyer files $10m lawsuit over alleged forged Rothko

The NBCUniversal vice chairman and co-founder of Creative Artists Agency claims two art dealers duped him into buying the fake painting for nearly $1m in 2001

Passions run high as UK's controversial Ivory Act challenged in court

Antiques trade fought for judicial review of proposed ban, due to come into force in the coming months, but draft judgement will not be made until 31 October

Nan Goldin brings Pain to Purdue Pharma bankruptcy hearings in New York

Demonstrators at the White Plains courthouse kept up the pressure to hold Sackler family accountable in opioid crisis, as a $10bn settlement hangs in the balance