A project of the Berkeley Center for Law and Business, dedicated to the art world and its intersections with law, finance, technology, and culture.
The Art, Law, and Finance Project is an interdisciplinary effort dedicated to exploring issues at the intersection of art, law, finance, technology, and culture. It seeks to be at the forefront of discussions on hot topics such as repatriation, artificial intelligence, securitization, and fraud in the art world. The project hosts an annual symposium featuring leaders from a variety of relevant fields, and also releases a periodic newsletter, Canvas, to keep interested readers up to date.
Explore Canvas, our newsletter dedicated to the art world and its intersections with law, finance, technology, and culture.
Canvas, Issue 11
This month we highlight news of recovery of stolen artifacts, trends in the art market, the instability of the crypto world, artistic freedom, and more.Canvas, Issue 10
This month we highlight news of artistic freedom and the courts, the illicit antiques trade, trends in the art market, artificial intelligence in museums, and more.Canvas, Issue 9
This month we highlight news of copyright and the courts, fraud and the art market, activism and social justice, the impact of federal regulations on museums, and more.Canvas, Issue 8
This month we highlight news on current market trends, the loss of cultural heritage in a time of war, the EU’s landmark AI Act, and more.Canvas, Issue 7
This month we highlight news on current market trends, money laundering in the art market, international cooperation to safeguard cultural heritage, risks to museums' reputations, freedom of expression, and more.Canvas, Issue 6
This month we highlight news on financial fraud, international law, Indigenous American repatriation, social justice, the future of art degrees in Afghanistan, and more.Canvas, Issue 5
This month we highlight news on copyright, legislation, artificial intelligence, and the future of the art industry.Canvas, Issue 4
This month we highlight news on repatriation, education, legislation, artificial intelligence, and the importance of the art market in the U.S. economy.Canvas, Issue 3
Artificial intelligence and its implications for the arts continues to be at the forefront of the news.Canvas, Issue 2
As we enter a new year, artists and scholars are reckoning not only with shifting prospects for the future, but with issues of the past.Canvas, Issue 1
We hope you enjoy the inaugural issue of Canvas, a newsletter dedicated to the art world and its intersections with law, finance, technology, and culture.
Upcoming Events
There are no upcoming events scheduled at this time. Check back later!
What People are Saying…
“As a practicing attorney, collector of art and antiques (in recovery) and student of art history, the annual symposium at SFMOMA is on my ‘must attend’ list. Speakers are drawn from the entire spectrum of legal and artistic expertise. The panels are informative, provocative and frequently entertaining.”
— Paul Clark, Senior Counsel, Seward & Kissel LLP
“We are honored to host the Berkeley Art, Finance, and Law Symposium at SFMOMA. The Symposium shares the museum’s goals of exploring the power of art and its impact on society. The Symposium is an important catalyst for cross-industry collaboration, and a deeper examination into the fascinating ways that art, finance, and law intersect.”
— Adine Varah, General Counsel, SFMOMA
Featured Research
Art Beyond Copyright Introduction
In their introduction to the Winter 2024 edition of Grey Room, editors Amy Adler and Noam Elcott argue that the incentives of copyright protection are meaningless in the context of visual art where “authenticity” is the measure of value and copies are essentially worthless.Trademark Law and the Contingent Art Object
UCLA Law Professor Xiyin Tang discusses the nexus between contemporary art on the one hand, and branding and trademark law on the other -- a connection increasingly strengthened by the transformation of contemporary art into a kind of luxury good where the artist becomes the brand.Regulating Technology Through Copyright Law: A Comparative Perspective
Berkeley Law Professor, Pamela Samuelson, underscores the provisions of the EU's Directive on Copyright for the Digital Single Market (DSM) and questions whether the new rules will have the desired effect.Going “Beyond” Mere Transformation: Warhol and Reconciliation of the Derivative Work Right and Fair Use
Peter Menell, Berkeley Law Professor, analyzes the meaning and implications of the recent Supreme Court watershed fair use decision in Warhol v. Goldsmith.Operating on Good-Faith Enforcement: The Current State of International Legal Instruments in Art Repatriation
Eleanor Iris Gartstein, Berkeley Law 1L, examines existing international treaties dedicated to the repatriation of misappropriated cultural artifacts, recognizes their deficiencies, and advocates for reform.The Constitutional Irrelevance of Art
Brian Soucek argues that whether or not expression can be considered “art” has never been relevant in the US Supreme Court’s analysis of First Amendment protection of that expression.Artificial Authenticity
Amy Adler explores the importance of artificial authenticity in an age of limitless copying, the art market, and the NFT phenomenon.Art After Warhol
In Art After Warhol, Professor Tang highlights an art world grappling with the problematic politics and potential inequities in using copyrighted works.Reflections on Music Copyright Justice
In Reflections on Music Copyright Justice, Professor Peter Menell argues that the digital revolution has upended many aspects of the copyright system, particularly as it relates to music.Court Says No Human Author, No Copyright
Heather Whitney, a San Francisco-based attorney at Morrison Foerster wrote an insightful article on the Thaler v. Perlmutter decision and ongoing uncertainty about copyright protection for genAI outputs.Technoheritage
Sonia Katyal explores the legal revolution that is swiftly unfolding regarding the relationship between technology, user interactivity, and cultural institutions, both inside and outside of the law.Misreading Campbell: Lessons for Warhol
Shyamkrishna Balganesh and Peter S. Menell argue that the Court in Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith would benefit from a close reading of Campbell, which presciently foreshadowed and thoughtfully addressed the very questions before it today.Copyright Infringement or Fair Use? Probing the ‘Transformative’ Issue Before the Supreme Court
Professor Pamela Samuelson breaks down the recent oral arguments over whether an Andy Warhol print of a Prince photograph violates the photographer’s copyright.US and EU Regulation on Fractionalized NFTs – Navigating Unchartered Waters
As is so often the case, technology and market trends are one step ahead of regulation. This is true also with regard to the newest investment model related to NFTs.
Contact Us
For more information on the Art, Law, and Finance Project, contact Delia Violante at violdel@berkeley.edu.