Law, crime and regulation

A fifth person has been charged in connection to the theft of 18 Chinese artefacts from the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.

In ATG No 2062 dated 20 October 2012, we published an article entitled “Court Orders in Partridge Case reveal extent of Amor trio’s defeat”.

A Bill going through the UK parliament concerning design copyright threatens to create significant obstacles for those wishing to publish catalogues when staging exhibitions in commercial galleries or museums, says a leading academic.

‘The Return of Industrial Copyright?’, as Professor Bently’s paper is titled, sets out how, for decades, UK law has struggled to establish a balance between artistic copyright, which arises naturally, and design protection, which depends on registration.

The failure of wine investment funds to the tune of around £100m in the past four years has prompted the industry to set up a regulatory body to police such ventures.

Two men have been sentenced to a year in jail after admitting the theft of a sundial sculpture and bronze plinth from the Henry Moore Foundation.

A recent court case in New York has reinforced the importance of the often overlooked issue of artists’ moral rights.

Christie’s have won a High Court bid in Hong Kong to prevent another auction house benefiting from using a name that was sufficiently close to theirs to cause confusion.

A gang of robbers wearing ‘Halloween’ type masks and dressed all in black got more than they bargained for when staff at the well-known Hemswell Antiques Centre fought back to foil their raid.

A portable writing desk once owned by George Eliot is still missing after being stolen from Nuneaton Museum and Art Gallery.

New rules could “virtually kill the movement of historic arms” between countries “stone dead” and have a drastic impact on military collections, according to the Museums Association (MA).

The High Court has issued an order freezing $15m of assets belonging to art collector Sheikh Saud Bin Mohammed Al-Thani.

The Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association is taking the fight to forgers after one of its members was instrumental in bringing serial forger Allan Formhals to justice.

The High Court has reserved judgment on whether to continue freezing the assets of a Qatari sheikh accused of being a serial defaulter on debts run up at auction.

Two men have been charged with fraud connected to incidents at antiques fairs.

The Chinese government is considering regulation of the country’s burgeoning but problematic art market.

PERSONAL VIEW: Simon Stokes, who has just published his updated legal guide, puts the whole issue of the Artist’s Resale Right in context.

PERSONAL VIEW: Jolyon Warwick James, President of the Australian Antique and Art Dealers’ Association (AAADA, NSW Chapter) and chairman of the Australian Antiques and Art Market Federation (AAAMF), examines the problems with the Artist’s Resale Right in Australia.

Portobello Road dealers fear they are being targeted by a gang of robbers after the latest attack on traders this year.

Christie’s have joined auctioneers William J. Jenack in a bid to overturn a legal ruling that says New York salerooms must reveal consignors’ names to buyers.