USA Law and Practice Contributed by: Jana Slavina Farmer, Adam Buchwalter and Dara Elpren, Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP
over time. Art advisers will usually conduct extensive research to support clients in their art endeavours and leverage their extensive networks to help clients acquire or sell art. Further, an art adviser’s role can include representation of buyers and sellers in trans - actions. The legal status of art advisers is generally regulated by contract, although many advisers oper - ate without a contract. When an art adviser represents both the buyer and the seller in the same transac - tion, the resulting conflict of interest could expose the adviser to potential litigation. 6.6 Anti-Money Laundering Regulations and the Art Market The art market has become an attractive avenue for money laundering due to its high values and culture of discretion, and the portability of artworks. The EU and the UK have adopted anti-money laundering direc - tives, requiring galleries, dealers, auction houses and freeports to conduct transactional and customer due diligence checks. The United States has made incremental progress on similar regulations. In 2020, the United States enact - ed the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), which required antiquities dealers to incorporate AML pro - grammes such as due diligence procedures, customer identification, and reporting of suspicious activities; however, implementing regulations have not yet been enacted. In July 2025, the US Senate introduced the Art Market Integrity Act (S. 2400), a bipartisan bill that would amend the Bank Secrecy Act to classify persons engaged in art trading, including dealers, advisers, consultants, custodians, galleries, auction houses, museums, collectors, and other intermediar - ies, as “financial institutions” subject to AML require - ments, including record-keeping, customer identifica - tion, and suspicious activity reporting. The bill is under consideration by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
collections protected by cultural heritage depend on the national laws of the country in which the collection is located. However, there are a number of interna - tional laws governing protected collections, including: • the 1954 Hague Convention, which protects cul - tural institutions and collections during war; and • the 1970 UNESCO Convention, which prevents theft, trafficking, and illegal export of cultural items. As discussed in earlier sections, the United States has implemented laws that seek to protect cultural proper - ty from illegal trafficking. State and local governments may regulate historic and cultural properties through landmark preservation boards and other measures. Federal, state and local funds may be allocated to establish public libraries or support art preservation. 8. Photography 8.1 When Are Photographs Protected as Art? Copyright in Photographs Under the Copyright Act, photographs are protected as soon as they are created in any physical form, as long as they show a small amount of originality. When courts decide if someone has copied a photograph illegally, they do not protect the basic look of what is shown. Instead, they look at the creative choices the photographer made, such as how the scene is arranged, the lighting, the angle, the timing, and any editing. For example, in Rogers v Koons (2nd Circuit 1992), the court considered a case where artist Jeff Koons created a sculpture based on a photograph taken by Art Rogers without permission. The court held that Rogers’ creative choices in making the pho - to, such as composition, lighting and arrangement, were protected by copyright. On the other hand, in Meshwerks, Inc. v Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc. (10th Circuit 2008), the court addressed whether digital models (which the court equated to photographs) of Toyota vehicles were sufficiently original to be pro - tected by copyright. The court found that because the digital models were essentially exact replicas of the cars without additional creative input, they lacked the originality required for copyright protection. This means that while anyone can photograph the same subject, only the photographer’s unique way of show -
7. Collections 7.1 Legal Status of Collections
Collections may be protected as cultural heritage when they possess historical, artistic, scientific or social significance. The legal frameworks governing
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