Definitive global law guides offering comparative analysis from top-ranked lawyers
CHAMBERS GLOBAL PRACTICE GUIDES
Art & Cultural Property Law 2026
Definitive global law guides offering comparative analysis from top-ranked lawyers
Contributing Editor Fiorella Federica Alvino Nunziante Magrone
Global Practice Guides
Art & Cultural Property Law
Contributing Editor Fiorella Federica Alvino Nunziante Magrone
2026
Chambers Global Practice Guides For more than 20 years, Chambers Global Guides have ranked lawyers and law firms across the world. Chambers now offer clients a new series of Global Practice Guides, which contain practical guidance on doing legal business in key jurisdictions. We use our knowledge of the world’s best lawyers to select leading law firms in each jurisdiction to write the ‘Law & Practice’ sections. In addition, the ‘Trends & Developments’ sections analyse trends and developments in local legal markets. Disclaimer: The information in this guide is provided for general reference only, not as specific legal advice. Views expressed by the authors are not necessarily the views of the law firms in which they practise. For specific legal advice, a lawyer should be consulted. Content Management Director Claire Oxborrow Content Manager Jonathan Mendelowitz Senior Content Reviewers Sally McGonigal, Ethne Withers, Deborah Sinclair, Stephen Dinkeldein, Vivienne Button and Sean Marshall Content Reviewers Lawrence Garrett, Marianne Page, Heather Palomino, Alison Moore, Adrian Ciechacki and Michael Irvine Content Coordination Manager Nancy Tsang Senior Content Coordinators Carla Cagnina and Delicia Tasinda Content Coordinator Joanna Chivers Head of Production Jasper John Production Coordinator Genevieve Sibayan
Published by Chambers and Partners 165 Fleet Street London EC4A 2AE Tel +44 20 7606 8844 Fax +44 20 7831 5662 Web www.chambers.com
Copyright © 2026 Chambers and Partners
Contents
INTRODUCTION Contributed by Fiorella Federica Alvino and Andrea Alberto Belloli, Nunziante Magrone p.4
MEXICO Law and Practice p.125 Contributed by Galicia Abogados, S.C. PORTUGAL Law and Practice p.135 Contributed by Valadas Coriel & Associados SPAIN Law and Practice p.154 Contributed by Ramón y Cajal Abogados Trends and Developments p.165 Contributed by Ramón y Cajal Abogados UK Law and Practice p.170 Contributed by Dragon Argent Trends and Developments p.186 Contributed by Parapluie
CHINA Law and Practice p.8
Contributed by Hylands Law Firm Trends and Developments p.17 Contributed by Hylands Law Firm
CZECH REPUBLIC Law and Practice p.22 Contributed by ŠIROKÝ ZRZAVECKÝ, attorneys-at-law Trends and Developments p.37 Contributed by ŠIROKÝ ZRZAVECKÝ, attorneys-at-law
GERMANY Law and Practice p.44 Contributed by Flick Gocke Schaumburg Trends and Developments p.57 Contributed by Flick Gocke Schaumburg HONG KONG SAR, CHINA Law and Practice p.62 Contributed by Angus Forsyth & Co. Trends and Developments p.70 Contributed by Angus Forsyth & Co. HUNGARY Law and Practice p.73 Contributed by Andreides Law INDIA Law and Practice p.84 Contributed by Khaitan & Co Trends and Developments p.97 Contributed by Obhan Mason ITALY Trends and Developments p.103 Contributed by Jacobacci Avvocati
USA Law and Practice p.192 Contributed by Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP Trends and Developments p.207 Contributed by Withers USA – CALIFORNIA Law and Practice p.212 Contributed by Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP Trends and Developments p.222 Contributed by The Coopersmith Law Firm, LLP
USA – FLORIDA Law and Practice p.229 Contributed by DLA Piper Trends and Developments p.243 Contributed by DLA Piper USA – NEW YORK Trends and Developments p.251 Contributed by Withers
LIECHTENSTEIN Law and Practice p.109 Contributed by Ospelt & Partners Attorneys at Law Ltd. Trends and Developments p.120 Contributed by Ospelt & Partners Attorneys at Law Ltd.
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INTRODUCTION
Contributed by: Fiorella Federica Alvino and Andrea Alberto Belloli, Nunziante Magrone
Nunziante Magrone is a well-established player in the Italian legal advice scene, and has specific knowledge of the industrial and financial sectors as well as of the Italian economy. With Italian locations in Milan and Rome, it is an independent law firm that operates both locally and abroad, thanks to its strong international vocation. The firm counts on a team of leading lawyers with expertise and experience in vari - ous practice areas, who are recognised for their pro -
fessional skills, ethical values and passion for their work. The firm provides assistance both to Italian companies in their internationalisation processes and to foreign groups and multinationals in their opera - tions or investments in Italy. Nunziante Magrone has a long and proven track record in assisting Italian and foreign companies operating in various industries and areas of the law: fine art is one specialisation of the firm.
Contributing Editor
Co-Author
Fiorella Federica Alvino is a partner at Nunziante Magrone who specialises in corporate law, M&A and private equity, with an additional focus on art law. She has wide experience and has assisted
Andrea Alberto Belloli is a senior associate at Nunziante Magrone. He holds a PhD in Comparative Private Law and specialises in resolving complex legal issues in civil and commercial law, including matters
corporate clients and credit institutions in major international transactions. She assists major clients in the luxury goods and fine art sectors. She has also attended various conferences on corporate law, private equity and art law, and holds an LLM from Harvard Law School. She is on the board of trustees of Friends of the Bargello, a charity institution created to raise funds to maintain the museum. She is also a board trustee in AUR – the American University of Rome.
involving connections with foreign legal systems. He is an expert in family property law, inheritance law and the management of family assets, with a specific focus on the administration of art assets and cultural property. He also has extensive experience in real estate law, including real estate transactions, leases and litigation.
Nunziante Magrone Foro Buonaparte 70 20121 Milano (MI) Italy Tel: +39 026 575 181 Fax: +39 02 657 0013 Email: f.alvino@nmlex.it Web: www.nunziantemagrone.it
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INTRODUCTION Contributed by: Fiorella Federica Alvino and Andrea Alberto Belloli, Nunziante Magrone
Art and the Law in 2026: Navigating a Market in Transition The global art market enters 2026 in a period of mean - ingful recalibration. According to the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2025, total sales in 2024 reached an estimated USD57.5 billion. For legal practitioners, a market in transition is a mar - ket where there is heightened legal activity. Contested valuations, renegotiated consignment terms, cross- border disputes and the restructuring of commercial relationships all generate legal work. At the same time, the art market’s increasing professionalisation – driven by regulatory expansion, rising compliance standards and growing institutional scrutiny – is reshaping the role of specialist counsel. Lawyers advising art market participants must now combine deep technical knowl - edge with an understanding of market dynamics, geo - political risk and technological change. This guide is intended as a practical resource for that purpose. A mosaic of legal frameworks One of the defining characteristics of art law as a discipline is the absence of a single, unified global framework. Each of the jurisdictions covered in this guide has developed its own regulatory approach, shaped by constitutional tradition, historical experi - ence and policy priorities. Civil law countries tend to offer artists strong statutory protections, including inalienable moral rights and mandatory resale roy - alties, while common law jurisdictions have histori - cally relied more heavily on freedom of contract and market-driven solutions. This divergence has direct practical consequences: a cross-border transaction may simultaneously engage the mandatory rules of multiple legal systems, making multi-jurisdictional legal advice not merely useful but essential. At the international level, the 1970 UNESCO Con - vention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property and the 1995 UNIDROIT Conven - tion on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects provide the principal normative anchors. Both have achieved wide ratification, but implementation varies significantly between signatory states and enforce - ment remains patchy. Within the European Union, harmonisation has progressed further, particularly in
the fields of artists’ resale rights, export licensing and anti-money laundering obligations. The December 2024 full entry into force of the Markets in Crypto- Assets Regulation (MiCA) has added a further layer of EU-wide regulation relevant to the digital art sec - tor. Practitioners advising across jurisdictions must remain alert to this evolving mosaic. The rights of the creator A central theme of this guide is the legal framework protecting the rights of artists. In most jurisdictions examined, these rights take two principal forms. Moral rights safeguard the personal and reputational bond between creator and work: typically encompassing the right of attribution and the right of integrity, they are generally inalienable and survive the artist’s death, enforceable by heirs or designated representatives. Economic rights, by contrast, grant exclusive control over the commercial exploitation of the artwork and are transferable and time-limited. The scope of both categories varies considerably between jurisdictions, creating friction in international transactions where the applicable law may be disputed or unclear. The resale right – entitling artists or their heirs to a percentage of the proceeds each time a work is resold through a professional intermediary – remains a point of regulatory asymmetry between major art markets. Harmonised across the EU under Directive 2001/84/ EC, it has no equivalent in the United States and oper - ates under varying rules in other jurisdictions covered by this guide. This disparity continues to generate debate about market competitiveness and the equi - table sharing of appreciation between creators and the secondary market. The legal status of photographs as artistic works also warrants specific attention. Across jurisdictions, the distinction between photographs protected as original creative works – attracting full copyright protection for the life of the author plus 70 years – and simple photographs attracting lesser or no protection turns on the presence of genuine creative expression: origi - nality of composition, lighting, perspective and artis - tic vision. As photographic images proliferate across digital platforms, the question of when and how they are protected, and what authorisation is required for their reproduction and commercial use, has become
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INTRODUCTION Contributed by: Fiorella Federica Alvino and Andrea Alberto Belloli, Nunziante Magrone
one of practical daily importance for artists, galleries, publishers and digital platforms alike. Authentication, provenance and the duty of diligence Authentication and provenance remain among the most legally and commercially sensitive areas of art law. If an artwork is found to be inauthentic, the con - sequences can be severe: contracts may be rescind - ed, substantial damages claimed and professional reputations damaged. Yet the legal framework gov - erning authentication is notably underdeveloped. No jurisdiction covered in this guide mandates a certified authentication system for artworks: decisions are typi - cally made by private experts, foundations or artists’ estates whose authority derives from market recogni - tion, not statutory mandate. Disagreements between heirs and foundations, or challenges to the authority of a catalogue raisonné, frequently generate complex litigation that sits at the intersection of intellectual property, contract and tort law. Provenance research – the tracing of an artwork’s own - ership history – has assumed growing importance in recent years. Heightened awareness of artworks dis - placed during periods of armed conflict, colonial acqui - sition or wartime occupation has raised expectations of diligence among buyers, sellers and intermediaries. International databases, including the Art Loss Regis - ter and Interpol’s Stolen Works of Art Database, have become standard reference tools. Auction houses, gal - leries and art advisers face increasing scrutiny of their pre-sale verification processes, and failure to conduct adequate due diligence may expose them to civil liabili - ty, regulatory sanction and reputational harm. Contribu - tors to this guide address the specific standards and obligations applicable in each jurisdiction. Cultural heritage: protecting the shared patrimony Perhaps no area of art law more clearly illustrates the tension between private property rights and the pub - lic interest than cultural heritage regulation. Across the jurisdictions covered in this guide, states assert varying degrees of authority over objects deemed to be of historical, artistic or archaeological significance – imposing restrictions on sale, export and alteration, claiming pre-emptive rights of acquisition, and in some cases asserting outright ownership over discov -
ered objects. The specific mechanisms vary widely: from comprehensive codified regimes to more selec - tive administrative interventions. What they share is the principle that cultural objects of sufficient impor - tance transcend private ownership and engage the public interest. The legal status of collections – assemblages of objects considered as a unified whole – raises spe - cific questions in many jurisdictions, particularly in the areas of succession, creditor rights and heritage pro - tection. A collection declared to be of cultural signifi - cance may be subject to constraints that significantly affect its management, transfer and valuation, even when privately owned. Restitution has moved from the margins to the centre of international cultural policy. High-profile disputes between major museums and source communities or nations have generated legal proceedings, diplomatic negotiations and, increasingly, voluntary agreements outside the courts. Legislative developments contin - ue to shift the landscape: France’s 2023 law enabling public museums to restitute Nazi-looted artworks rep - resented a landmark departure from the principle of the inalienability of public collections. Similar legisla - tive initiatives are under consideration or in progress in other jurisdictions. For legal advisers, restitution engages complex questions of title, limitation periods, sovereign immunity and conflict of laws, frequently requiring co-ordination across multiple legal systems. Market integrity: compliance, AML and trade policy The art market’s historic opacity has made it a persis - tent concern for financial regulators. The extension of anti-money laundering obligations to art market par - ticipants under successive EU AML Directives – trans - posed into national law across the member states covered in this guide – has fundamentally altered the compliance landscape. Know-your-customer checks, suspicious transaction reporting to national financial intelligence units and the maintenance of detailed records for extended periods are now standard require - ments for galleries, dealers, auction houses and art advisers operating in the European market. Enforce - ment activity is increasing, and the consequences of
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INTRODUCTION Contributed by: Fiorella Federica Alvino and Andrea Alberto Belloli, Nunziante Magrone
non-compliance – administrative penalties, criminal liability and reputational damage – are material. The geopolitical backdrop adds further complexity. The imposition of significant trade tariffs by the Unit - ed States – the world’s largest art market by value, accounting for 43% of global sales in 2024 – introduc - es uncertainty into cross-border transactions and may accelerate the reorientation of major sales toward oth - er market centres, including London and Hong Kong. Legal advisers must be alert to the customs, tax and regulatory implications of shifting trade patterns, and to the increasing use by states of cultural property con - trols as instruments of broader foreign and trade policy. Technology and the law: NFTs, AI and new frontiers The digital transformation of the art market has gen - erated a wave of legal questions that existing frame - works are only beginning to address. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) – unique digital certificates of owner - ship recorded on a blockchain – have matured as a commercial instrument, though the legal landscape surrounding them remains unsettled. In most jurisdic - tions, existing copyright law does not automatically transfer to the purchaser of an NFT: the buyer acquires the token, but not necessarily the underlying intellec - tual property rights. The full entry into force of MiCA in December 2024 has brought NFT marketplaces and related digital asset service providers within an EU regulatory parameter for the first time, with significant implications for platform operators and their clients. Artificial intelligence presents a deeper structural chal - lenge. As AI systems become capable of generating works that are commercially indistinguishable from human creations, fundamental questions arise about authorship, originality and the scope of copyright pro - tection. In January 2025, the United States Copyright Office published the second part of its comprehensive AI copyright report, reaffirming that purely AI-generat - ed works do not qualify for copyright protection under US law, while acknowledging that AI-assisted works incorporating substantial human creative contribution may do so. European law is evolving in parallel: the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, which entered into force in August 2024, imposes transparency obligations on AI systems used in creative contexts, though its full implications for the art market remain to be worked
out. Jurisdictions outside the US and EU are taking divergent approaches, creating a fragmented global landscape that demands careful, jurisdiction-specific legal analysis. Succession, philanthropy and the long view For collectors and their advisers, the legal dimen - sions of art ownership extend well beyond the point of acquisition. The management of a collection over time – encompassing insurance, conservation, lend - ing, valuation and ultimate disposition – raises complex questions about private law and taxation. Succession planning for significant collections requires careful navi - gation of inheritance regimes, forced heirship rules, gift and estate taxes and, where cultural heritage designa - tions apply, additional regulatory constraints. Trusts, foundations and charitable structures offer useful planning vehicles in many jurisdictions, but their tax treatment varies considerably and their interaction with cultural property rules requires case-by-case analysis. The generational transfer of artworks is a growing area of practice as the significant collections assembled in the late 20th and early 21st centuries pass to succes - sive generations. Whether through testamentary dispo - sition, lifetime gift, institutional donation or structured philanthropy, the legal and fiscal frameworks governing this transition differ substantially across the jurisdic - tions covered in this guide and must be assessed with specialist advice in each relevant market. Conclusion: law at the intersection of culture and commerce The legal issues surveyed in this guide are as diverse as the artworks they concern. What unites them is the growing complexity of the environment in which art is created, bought, sold, inherited and protected – an environment shaped by market recalibration, regulato - ry expansion, technological disruption and heightened ethical expectations. The art lawyer’s role has evolved accordingly: from transaction facilitator to strategic adviser, compliance officer and, in restitution matters, a participant in broader questions of historical justice. This guide aims to equip practitioners, collectors, institutions and businesses with the jurisdiction-spe - cific knowledge they need to navigate that environ - ment with confidence and precision.
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CHINA
Law and Practice Contributed by: Yingzi Liu, Tsaopei Wei, Han Zhou, Peng Lan and Kexin Yan Hylands Law Firm
Contents 1. Art Law Framework p.11 1.1 Relevant Authorities and Legislation p.11 2. Rights to Artworks p.11 2.1 Artists’ Rights Over Their Art p.11
7. Collections p.15 7.1 Legal Status of Collections p.15 8. Photography p.15 8.1 When Are Photographs Protected as Art? p.15 8.2 Legal Protection for Different Types of Photographs p.15 9. Artworks and New Technologies p.15 9.1 NFTs p.15 9.2 Counterfeit NFTs p.15 10. Gifts, Donations, Trusts and Inheritance p.15 10.1 Planning for Generational Transfer of Artworks p.15 10.2 Legal and Fiscal Issues in Artwork Succession p.16 10.3 Tax Implications of Artwork Gifts and Donations p.16 10.4 Artworks Exempt from Inheritance/Donation Taxes p.16 10.5 Trusts p.16
2.2 Copyright in Collaborative Artworks p.11 3. Protection Against Plagiarism p.11 3.1 Legal Consequences of Copyright Infringement p.11 3.2 Registering Artwork p.12 3.3 Resale Right p.12 3.4 Using Copyrighted Images p.12 4. Authentication of Artworks p.12 4.1 Posthumous Rights to Authenticate Artwork p.12 4.2 Art Authentication p.12 4.3 Legal Remedies Following a Declaration of Inauthenticity p.12 5. Cultural Heritage p.13 5.1 Defining Cultural Heritage p.13 5.2 Cultural Heritage and Adverse Possession p.13 5.3 State Rights to Cultural Heritage p.13 6. Sale of Art Objects Domestically and Abroad p.13 6.3 Gallery and Auction House Liability for Fake Art p.14 6.4 Pre-Sale Checks for Auction Houses and Galleries p.14 6.5 Role and Responsibilities of an Art Adviser p.14 6.6 Anti-Money Laundering Regulations and the Art Market p.14 6.1 Key Clauses in Art Sale Contracts p.13 6.2 Issues in Cross-Border Art Sales p.14
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CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Yingzi Liu, Tsaopei Wei, Han Zhou, Peng Lan and Kexin Yan, Hylands Law Firm
Hylands Law Firm is a full-service law firm with over 500 partners and consultants, and more than 2,000 lawyers and professionals worldwide. With 36 of - fices, one associated firm and one intellectual prop - erty agency spanning Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, San Francisco and beyond, Hylands boasts a robust global network. The Beijing TMT and entertainment team comprises approximately 30 members and specialises in entertainment and me - dia, arts and culture, and family wealth management
and inheritance. Clients span various sectors within entertainment, media and art law, encompassing art - ists, internet celebrities, sports stars, rappers and their agencies, as well as artists, collectors, galler - ies and auction houses. With intensive practice skills and experience, Hylands’ lawyers are legal experts in their respective areas, and are well versed in China’s investment environment and different business prac - tices.
Authors
Yingzi Liu is a partner at Hylands Law Firm and specialises in the fields of culture, arts, entertainment, sports, technology and media, focusing on light asset sectors. Her latest distinctive service areas include
Han Zhou is a partner at Hylands Law Firm and specialises in intellectual property, corporate law and entertainment media. He has provided legal services to many well-known enterprises and celebrities in the
digital works and digital asset transactions, IP cross-border co-operation and merchandising licensing transactions, personal and corporate debt and asset restructuring, among others. Yingzi is the deputy secretary-general of the Sports Law and Olympic Legal Affairs Research Society of the Beijing Law Society, and a legal committee member of the China Television Drama Production Industry Association, among other positions.
performing arts industry. Han also serves as a legal committee member of the Legal Affairs Committee of the China Television Drama Production Industry Association, a member of the Culture, Tourism, Media and Sports Committee of the Beijing Lawyers Association, and a mediator of the First Dispute Mediation Committee of the China Film Copyright Association, among other affiliations.
Peng Lan is a partner of Hylands Law firm (Chongqing) and serves as the Leading Partner for Copyright Practice in the Hylands Intellectual Property Professional Committee. He holds an LL.M. in Common Law from
Tsaopei Wei is a partner at Hylands Law Firm and specializing in high-end legal services for the art market and entertainment industries. He possesses extensive expertise in cross-border art transactions,
Temple University. He focuses on intellectual property dispute resolution, including copyright infringement cases and trademark infringement cases, as well as administrative approval matters. With extensive experience in entertainment law and intellectual property law, he also serves as a member of the Intellectual Property Professional Committee of the 8th Council of the Chongqing Lawyers Association and a mediator at the Chongqing Foreign-related Intellectual Property Mediation Center.
provenance due diligence, copyright licensing, and cultural IP operations. He has advised numerous galleries and cultural institutions on complex transaction agreements, art investment trusts, and regulatory compliance structures. Leveraging his profound insight into art market dynamics and financial regulations, he provides collectors and institutions with comprehensive strategies ranging from intellectual property protection to generational asset succession. Furthermore, he is a Certified Auctioneer of China.
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CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Yingzi Liu, Tsaopei Wei, Han Zhou, Peng Lan and Kexin Yan, Hylands Law Firm
Kexin Yan is a qualified PRC lawyer based in Beijing. She completed her art history-focused studies in the UK, holding a Bachelor’s degree in Art History and Business from Newcastle University and a Master’s degree in
Cultural Heritage Studies from University College London. Merging professional legal expertise with in-depth art domain insights, she specialises in art law, offering professional advice on legal matters pertaining to domestic and international art transactions, drafting and reviewing art sales contracts, and delivering integrated art-law solutions. She has robust legal practice experience and is a native Mandarin speaker with proficient English.
Hylands Law Firm 3/11/12, Fortune Financial Center No 5 Dongsanhuan Zhong Road Chaoyang District Beijing China Tel: +86 10 650 288 88 Fax: +86 10 650 288 66 Email: pinxuan@hylandslaw.com Web: en.hylandslaw.com
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CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Yingzi Liu, Tsaopei Wei, Han Zhou, Peng Lan and Kexin Yan, Hylands Law Firm
1. Art Law Framework 1.1 Relevant Authorities and Legislation Within the Chinese jurisdiction in 2026, the field of art law is not governed by a single code but has formed a composite system with the Civil Code as the underly - ing logic, supported by the current Law on the Protec - tion of Cultural Relics, the Copyright Law, the Auction Law, and the Administrative Measures for the Opera - tion of Artworks. Regarding core regulatory authorities: the Ministry of Culture and Tourism is responsible for the overall administrative supervision and policymaking of the art market, focusing on investigating illegal business operations and content violations; and the National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) focuses on the legal management of immovable and museum- collected cultural relics – especially after the imple - mentation of the new law in 2025, its guiding role in the registration and filing of private collections has been significantly strengthened. Additionally, the National Copyright Administration is responsible for copyright administration, while the State Administra - tion for Market Regulation (SAMR) exercises author - ity over art auctions, anti-unfair competition and con - sumer rights protection. Under Chinese law, an artist’s rights system consists of two main categories: inalienable moral rights and transferable property rights. According to the Copy - right Law, moral rights include the right of publica - tion, the right of authorship, the right of revision, and the right to protect the integrity of the work. Notably, the right to protect the integrity of the work is par - ticularly crucial in the contemporary art context, as it prohibits others from distorting or tampering with the work against the author’s will, which often trig - gers intense debate regarding the relocation or res - toration of installation art. Property rights cover the rights of reproduction, distribution, rental, exhibition, filming, adaptation and dissemination via information networks. The right of exhibition, as a core source of property income for visual artists, has extended from 2. Rights to Artworks 2.1 Artists’ Rights Over Their Art
traditional physical museums to virtual reality (VR) and metaverse exhibition spaces. Furthermore, with the popularisation of digital watermarking and blockchain certification technologies, artists’ “right to remunera - tion” has received more precise protection in digital distribution channels. 2.2 Copyright in Collaborative Artworks For works created collaboratively by two or more authors, the ownership of copyright follows the prin - ciple of “agreement takes precedence; otherwise, joint ownership”. If the work can be used separately (such as a painting accompanied by a poem), the authors enjoy joint copyright over the whole but may exercise rights over their respective parts individu - ally. If the work is indivisible (such as an oil painting completed together), the copyright is held jointly and exercised through consensus. If co-authors cannot reach an agreement, no party may, without justifi - able reasons, prevent others from exercising rights other than assignment, exclusive licensing or pledg - ing, though the resulting proceeds must be reason - ably distributed among all collaborators. For “col - lective works” (or works of a legal entity) directed by an organisation, representing its will, and for which it bears responsibility, the artist often enjoys only the right of authorship, while the full copyright belongs to the entity. This distinction must be detailed in com - mission contracts to avoid ownership disputes during subsequent commercial development or entry into the secondary market. 3. Protection Against Plagiarism 3.1 Legal Consequences of Copyright Infringement In terms of civil liability, infringers must bear respon - sibilities such as ceasing the infringement, eliminating the impact, offering apologies and compensating for losses. The amount of compensation is determined in an order by the actual loss of the right-holder, the illegal gains of the infringer, or a multiple of the license fee; when the aforementioned criteria are difficult to calculate, the court may apply statutory damages of up to CNY 5 million. In a more deterrent manner, puni - tive damages of up to five times the calculated base may apply to malicious infringements with serious
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CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Yingzi Liu, Tsaopei Wei, Han Zhou, Peng Lan and Kexin Yan, Hylands Law Firm
circumstances. Administratively, cultural departments may confiscate infringing reproductions and produc - tion equipment and impose fines. If the infringement constitutes a “crime of copyright infringement” it will
gated to respect the author’s right of authorship and protect the integrity of the work, and may not distort the image without permission. 4. Authentication of Artworks 4.1 Posthumous Rights to Authenticate Artwork The authentication of a work’s genuineness involves both civil rights and academic opinions: heirs have the right to declare that a work did not originate from their predecessor to protect the artist’s reputation and moral integrity; however, such authentication is legally regarded only as expert testimony or a statement. If multiple heirs exist with conflicting opinions, the court typically appoints an independent third-party apprais - al agency and makes a comprehensive determination by referencing the artist’s former assistants, authorita - tive scholars and scientific methods. 4.2 Art Authentication Based on the principle of private autonomy in the Civil Code, a foundation or expert cannot be compelled to include a specific work in a catalogue raisonné , nor can they be forced to issue a favourable certificate of authenticity. No organisation or individual has a legal obligation to recognise a private collection as genu - ine. Forcing an expert to issue a certificate against their academic conscience would not only violate aca - demic freedom but could also mislead the market and constitute fraud against the public. 4.3 Legal Remedies Following a Declaration of Inauthenticity If an artwork is proven to be a forgery after a transac - tion, the buyer has multiple paths for remedy under Chinese law. First, the buyer may claim “significant misconception” under Article 147 of the Civil Code and apply to rescind the contract within the statu - tory period after learning the truth. Second, if it can be proven that the seller knowingly concealed the truth, it constitutes fraud, and the buyer has the right to rescind the contract and seek damages; in law - suits against business operators, punitive damages may even be claimed by reference to the Consumer Rights Protection Law. Additionally, the buyer may claim that the seller breached the warranty against
trigger criminal prosecution. 3.2 Registering Artwork
China’s current art registration system adopts the logic of “voluntary registration and public credit dis - closure”. Copyright registration is handled by copy - right protection centres at various levels and serves as preliminary proof of ownership, possessing strong evidentiary effect in judicial litigation. Furthermore, by 2026, many works in the market use blockchain traceability technology to anchor physical artworks with digital certificates, recording the provenance and The resale right refers to the right of artists and their heirs to share a certain percentage of the transaction price in subsequent commercial resales after the initial sale of the original artwork. This right originated in Europe (eg, France) to compensate for the imbalance between low-priced sales before an artist becomes famous and high-priced circulation afterward. Within the Chinese legal framework, although the resale right is widely discussed in academic and artistic circles, a mandatory resale right system has not yet been fully implemented at the statutory level. Current practice is primarily achieved through contractual autonomy, where artists include “resale royalty clauses” in con - tracts during the first sale. 3.4 Using Copyrighted Images In the Chinese legal environment, using images of copyrighted artworks must follow the principle of “license first, use later”, unless it falls under “fair use” as stipulated in the Copyright Law (eg, personal study, teaching, or news reporting). Licensing typi - cally occurs through several paths: primarily direct licensing via written contracts with the artist or their heirs, specifying the scope, duration, and fees; and secondary licensing through collective management organisations, where users obtain a blanket licence by paying standardised royalties for works registered with such agencies. It is important to note that even with a property right licence, users remain legally obli - transaction history. 3.3 Resale Right
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CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Yingzi Liu, Tsaopei Wei, Han Zhou, Peng Lan and Kexin Yan, Hylands Law Firm
defects, seeking a return, refund, contract rescission or price reduction. In judicial practice, the court exam - ines whether both parties fulfilled their duty of care: if the buyer is a sophisticated collector and the price was far below market value, the court may rule that the buyer assumed the risk; conversely, if the seller failed to conduct a provenance check, they must bear liability for negligence.
struction, agricultural production, or by chance (eg, riverbed erosion) automatically belong to the state without the need for administrative confirmation. Dis - coverers have a legal obligation to report immediately and protect the site; private excavation, concealment or trading is strictly prohibited. The state grants spir - itual or material rewards to individuals who fulfil these obligations. If a person refuses to hand over relics, cul - tural asset departments have the power to use admin - istrative force for recovery and may impose sanctions under the Public Security Administration Punishment Law; serious cases (eg, illegal possession of precious relics) constitute the crime of embezzlement or the crime of excavating ancient cultural sites. In 2026, the state further strengthened the survey of privately held heritage relics, encouraging their inclusion in public collections through donation, in exchange for tax deductions or honorary titles. 6. Sale of Art Objects Domestically and Abroad 6.1 Key Clauses in Art Sale Contracts Main Clauses The main clauses in an art sales contract include spe - cial provisions such as artwork description, authen - ticity guarantee, authentication certificate, transfer of ownership and defect disclosure, to ensure the authenticity, legal source and transparency of the art - work’s condition. In addition, the contract covers gen - eral clauses such as price, payment method, deliv - ery arrangements, liability for breach of contract and dispute resolution, clarifying the basic framework of the transaction and the rights and obligations of both parties. Due to the particularity of art transactions, the contract usually incorporates detailed identifica - tion requirements, proof of provenance, restoration records and other content, and stipulates return and refund mechanisms in the event of discovering for - geries or significant defects, in order to protect the
5. Cultural Heritage 5.1 Defining Cultural Heritage
According to the Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics effective in 2025, the definition of cultural herit - age under Chinese law combines broad and narrow interpretations. Narrowly, it refers to “cultural relics”, including movable and immovable objects with histor - ical, artistic or scientific value, such as ancient build - ings, sites, stone carvings and museum collections. Broadly, it covers intangible cultural heritage and traditional villages. Regarding legal characterisation, the 2026 system emphasises the public nature and national security attributes of cultural heritage. Based on value, relics are classified into Grade I, Grade II, Grade III and general cultural relics. 5.2 Cultural Heritage and Adverse Possession The principle of “adverse possession” is strictly restricted or even excluded in the field of cultural her - itage. According to the interpretative link between the Civil Code and the Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics, for cultural relics unearthed within the terri - tory that belong to the state, any private possession – regardless of duration or whether it was peaceful possession spanning generations – cannot result in ownership due to the passage of time. For private transactions of cultural relics with legal sources, ordi - nary rules for the transfer of property rights apply; however, for museum relics that were illegally lost, even if the buyer is a “bona fide third party”, the law tends to support recovery by the public institution, providing limited compensation based on the buyer’s degree of fault. 5.3 State Rights to Cultural Heritage According to current regulations in 2026, cultural relics discovered by individuals during infrastructure con -
buyer’s rights and interests. Resale Restriction Clause
A resale restriction clause is also an important ele - ment, stipulating that the buyer is prohibited from reselling or consigning the artwork for auction within a certain period (usually three or five years), to control
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CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Yingzi Liu, Tsaopei Wei, Han Zhou, Peng Lan and Kexin Yan, Hylands Law Firm
the circulation of the artwork, maintain artist market stability and prevent short-term drastic price fluctua - tions. These clauses collectively ensure the security and legality of art transactions, both reflecting the specificity of art transactions and adhering to the general principles of sales contracts. 6.2 Issues in Cross-Border Art Sales According to the 2026 Law on the Protection of Cul - tural Relics and its accompanying Measures for the Administration of the Examination of Cultural Relics Entry and Exit, any artwork predating 1911 and works by modern masters included in the national restricted exit list are strictly prohibited from permanent export. Temporary export for exhibitions requires a declara - tion to the NCHA and the payment of a deposit, with the requirement of re-entry within the statutory period. In a sales contract, if a relic is privately transported abroad without a Cultural Relics Exit Permit, the con - tract is void for violating mandatory provisions, and the seller and logistics provider may be suspected of the crime of smuggling cultural relics. Addition - ally, artworks involving CITES-listed species (such as antiques containing ivory, tortoiseshell, or rhino horn) face near-absolute embargo risks in interna - tional trade; buyers and sellers must clearly stipulate customs obligations and the risk of illegal seizure in the contract, otherwise they may face severe adverse consequences. 6.3 Gallery and Auction House Liability for Fake Art Galleries, as primary market sellers, are subject to the warranty against defects under the Civil Code. If a forgery is sold, even if the gallery owner claims to have been deceived, they must bear the responsi - bility for returns, refunds and damages to the buyer. While auction houses, as intermediary agents, enjoy the right to issue disclaimers under the Auction Law, recent judicial interpretations have further restricted the abuse of such clauses: if an auction house makes misleading statements in catalogue descriptions or fails to perform “reasonable and prudent” due dili - gence on provenance, it cannot be exempted from liability. Specifically for “plagiarised works”, if a gal - lery or auction house organises a sale while knowing or having reason to know that the work infringes on another’s copyright, it constitutes joint infringement
and bears responsibility for ceasing the infringement and joint and several liability for compensation. 6.4 Pre-Sale Checks for Auction Houses and Galleries Current laws and industry regulations have set a legal bottom line of “provenance legality verification and truthful disclosure of defects”. However, there are still no unified national mandatory detailed regulations on the specific steps and verification standards for provenance chain checks. In practice, industry-stand - ard verification centred on original invoices, exhibi - tion records and authoritative publications has been formed. 6.5 Role and Responsibilities of an Art Adviser An art adviser is generally considered a “commission agent”” or an “intermediary agent”. Their core respon - sibility is to provide clients with acquisition advice, value assessments and provenance verification based on professional knowledge. The core of legal liability lies in the duty of loyalty and the disclosure of conflicts of interest. If an adviser, through gross negligence, causes a client to purchase cultural relics with illegal sources or forgeries with significantly inconsistent val - ues, they must bear liability for damages. 6.6 Anti-Money Laundering Regulations and the Art Market The current Anti-Money Laundering Law only explicitly lists “dealers engaged in spot transactions of precious metals and gemstones above a specified amount”, as specific non-financial institution obligors; it does not yet include regular art auction houses or galler - ies in the statutory list. However, the law includes a catch-all provision granting authorities the power to determine other institutions required to perform AML obligations based on money laundering risk condi - tions. In practice, art business institutions involving large cash transactions or cross-border transactions may be required by regulatory departments to per - form customer due diligence based on risk prevention requirements.
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CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Yingzi Liu, Tsaopei Wei, Han Zhou, Peng Lan and Kexin Yan, Hylands Law Firm
7. Collections 7.1 Legal Status of Collections
9. Artworks and New Technologies 9.1 NFTs A non-fungible token (NFT) is a digital asset based on blockchain technology. Its core characteristics are uniqueness and irreplaceable nature. NFTs are not permitted to circulate as payment tools in China but are instead viewed as a type of digital commodity or a digital mapping of an artwork. The core of legal recog - nition lies in its “certificate” nature: holding an NFT is not equivalent to automatically owning the copyright of the underlying artwork unless otherwise explicitly agreed upon in the transfer contract. 9.2 Counterfeit NFTs While blockchain technology is immutable, regulated domestic digital collection platforms bear a high- intensity pre-audit obligation beyond “notice-and- takedown”. If the underlying content of an NFT is found to involve plagiarism or forgery, the platform can perform a “black hole treatment” (transferring it to an inaccessible address) via smart contract logic, effectively terminating its circulation potential. Indi - viduals who maliciously mint and sell infringing NFTs face copyright infringement liability, and if the amount involved is large and fraud exists, it may constitute the crime of fraud. The legality of NFT circulation must be traced back to the authorisation chain of the underly - ing artwork; any broken authorisation will result in the legal invalidity of the digital asset. 10. Gifts, Donations, Trusts and Inheritance 10.1 Planning for Generational Transfer of Artworks Mature art succession planning has shifted from simple testamentary inheritance to a composite con - figuration. In practice, a “Will plus Agreement plus Inventory” model is typically adopted: first, the asset boundaries are established through a detailed inven - tory (including high-definition images, provenance proof and insurance contracts); second, professional legal or art institutions are designated as managers responsible for physical protection, or family trusts/ charitable foundations are established to shift owner - ship from individuals to legal entities, thereby avoiding
When a collection system demonstrates significant cultural continuity due to its integrity, historical logic or specific themes, it may apply for recognition as a “non-state-owned museum collection” or “protected historical archive”. Once recognised, the collection will receive holistic legal protection, with a ban on arbi - trary split-selling. The government provides support in financial subsidies, professional restoration and bequest tax exemptions, but also restricts the owner’s absolute right of disposal – for example, the state has a right of first refusal during an overall transfer. 8. Photography 8.1 When Are Photographs Protected as Art? The degree of protection for photographic works depends on their originality. Photography consid - ered a “work of art” must reflect the author’s unique aesthetic choices in light and shadow capture, com - position, thematic expression, or post-production/ digital processing. Such works enjoy a full term of copyright protection (life of the author plus 50 years). Additionally, for photographic images with historical documentary value (such as old photos from the late Qing Dynasty), even if the copyright has expired, their attributes as cultural relics are still governed by the Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics, and any com - mercial reproduction or utilisation must follow relevant cultural heritage protection regulations. 8.2 Legal Protection for Different Types of Photographs For “other types of photographic images” that do not possess high aesthetic originality, such as news docu - mentary photos, judicial practice takes a categorised approach. Although their artistic quality is limited, they are still protected by Copyright Law, but the focus of protection is on prohibiting unauthorised commer - cial reproduction. For images generated entirely by machines or those with only functional recording sig - nificance (such as surveillance footage screenshots), the law tends to define them as raw data or digital evi - dence, not granting them the status of a work under copyright law.
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CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Yingzi Liu, Tsaopei Wei, Han Zhou, Peng Lan and Kexin Yan, Hylands Law Firm
10.4 Artworks Exempt from Inheritance/ Donation Taxes As of 2026, China has not established a specific inher - itance or gift tax. 10.5 Trusts Artworks can be established as trust property. Accord - ing to the Trust Law of the People’s Republic of China, a trust refers to an act whereby the settlor, based on trust in the trustee, entrusts the property rights to the trustee, who manages or disposes of them in the trus - tee’s own name, according to the settlor’s wishes, for the benefit of the beneficiary or for a specific purpose. The subject of a trust is property rights, and artworks that possess value attributes and are legally consid - ered valuable movable property can legally become trust property. According to the Trust Law, the purpose of the trust is one of the necessary conditions for establishing a trust, but the purpose must not violate laws or admin - istrative regulations, nor harm public interests. In the context of artwork inheritance, the trust structure with artworks as trust property is a good inheritance tool for realising the cultural and economic value inherit - ance of artworks. Currently, beneficial attempts have already begun in China, and as long as they do not violate legal provisions, issues of penalties are not yet involved.
the risk of collection fragmentation due to scattered heirs and achieving bankruptcy isolation between art assets and family members’ personal risks. 10.2 Legal and Fiscal Issues in Artwork Succession The most prominent conflict in intestate or testamen - tary succession is between indivisibility and fractional inheritance. If a high-value artwork is jointly inherited by multiple heirs, it easily leads to a deadlock in the exercise of joint rights. Fiscally, although discussions on inheritance tax remain in the deliberation stage, the personal income tax and value-added tax involved in art transactions remain a significant burden; if heirs resell the work, the determination of the cost basis directly affects the tax load. Additionally, if the work belongs to a category prohibited from trading by the Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics, its inherit - ance is legal, but subsequent circulation is restricted, which must be fully considered when assessing asset value. 10.3 Tax Implications of Artwork Gifts and Donations For private gifts, tax law follows the principle of “rela - tive exemption, non-relative taxation”. Gratuitous gifts of artworks between close relatives are considered a legal transfer of family property and are not subject to personal income tax. However, for gifts between non-relatives, the artwork obtained by the recipient is defined as “incidental income” and is subject to personal income tax. In terms of public welfare dona - tions, the tax impact is primarily reflected in incentives for the donor; donors who give artworks to qualified public welfare organisations can deduct the amount (within limits) when calculating taxable income based on the donation receipt.
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