Art and Entertainment
Practice Group
Schellenberg Wittmer's Art and Entertainment Group is composed of specialists who provide advice and support to art institutions, collectors, artists, galleries, art dealers, auction houses, art fairs, restorers, art shippers and art insurers, in addition to clients engaged in the entertainment business.
Expertise
Experience
With our involvement in practically all fields of the arts over a timespan of more than 30 years and as active participants on the boards of museums, art foundations and the Swiss Association of Art Collectors, we can draw on inside experience and specialist knowledge particular to the specific issues in the fields of art and entertainment.
Arts
We have been involved in the establishment of foundations and estate planning for art collectors, artists and gallerists; preparation of the legal documentation required to operate museums, galleries and art investment funds; sale, loan,
consignment and pledge agreements for individual artworks and collections; agreements with artists’ estates; terms for art collection management services and art advisory services; litigation concerning looted, stolen, forged or damaged artworks; advice and representation in all matters of the art auction business; art insurance advice and representation in claims handling and litigation; due diligence on art transactions; import and export matters related to artworks and cultural property; best practice in art transactions; representation regarding art-related legislation, such as protection of cultural property and copyright.
We have represented parties before state courts, arbitral tribunals, law enforcement authorities and the media in civil and criminal proceedings on artworks, art transactions and art projects, as well as copyright and other intellectual property disputes.
Entertainment
We regularly advise film studios, digital TV network providers and broadcasting companies in negotiation and drafting of media-related agreements, and represent them in court proceedings.
- Coordination and drafting of legal paperwork for an exhibition tour of a prominent European collection to museums in Asia, including loan agreements, insurance contracts, shipping agreements, import, export, national indemnities, immunities from seizures, condition reports, etc.
- Legal documentation for a provider of art collection management services, including collection inventory, storage, shipping, insurance, import, export, databases, provenance research, valuation, market advice, etc.
- Advice to a client active in the rare musical instruments market in the acquisition and sale of instruments, including transaction terms, purchase and sale agreements, instructions to experts to secure authenticity certificates and condition reports, and advice to the freight-forwarding company for delivery, storage, insurance and customs proceedings
- Representation of a prominent art dealer in a high-stake arbitration brought by an art collector over contractual representations and warranties related to a piece of art that had spawned international headline news. Coordination of the local counsel in the UK, US and Philippines, as the case involved complex issues of Swiss, US and Philippine law, including criminal law and international legal assistance
- Establishment and administration of a foundation for the artistic estate (including copyright and archive) of an internationally known artist
- Representation of an international auction house in litigation and criminal proceedings concerning the sale of an object in dispute between seller, buyer and a third party
- Advice to authors of catalogues raisonnées related to inclusion of artworks with challenged authenticity
- Representation of collectors in criminal and civil proceedings against forgers and art dealers in two of the most prominent cases of art forgery in recent history, including coordination with law enforcement agencies and experts in scientific forgery research
Contact
Partners
Full Team
Awards & Recognitions
Our Art and Entertainment practitioners are ranked and recognised by leading legal directories such as:
- Chambers and Partners
- Legal 500
- Who's Who Legal