As elsewhere, art loans are an important aspect of museum practice in Canada. To protect cultural property loaned to the jurisdiction, five of Canada`s 10 provinces have immunity from seizure legislation. These are Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia. These provinces first passed such laws in the 1970s to ensure the protection of works borrowed as part of a major Hermitage exhibition in Russia, an exhibition that was to travel across Canada. Since property and civil rights fall under provincial jurisdiction under the Canadian Constitution, immunity from seizure is a matter of provincial interest. There is no federal legislation on immunity as there is in the United States or Australia. The term “art law” may arouse skepticism or curiosity in Canada, but it is less likely to be the case elsewhere. In the United States, it has been used since the 1970s in connection with laws affecting living and dead artists, as well as cultural heritage in general. Intellectual property law has the most obvious relevance to works of art, as it defines the property rights associated with them. Other relevant laws include those relating to auctions, insurance, taxes and inheritance, fraud and counterfeiting, obscenity, and import and export controls. These laws are of great interest to collectors, dealers, museums and the artists themselves. Beyond these private law issues, the public is concerned about the vulnerability of historical and archaeological sites (including wrecks) and cultural material destroyed or damaged as a result of armed conflict or terrorism. The recovery of works of art and other cultural property stolen during the Holocaust was often associated with complex legal issues, including limitation periods, sovereign immunity, and the legal and ethical liability of collectors and museums.
Another First Nations issue that has not yet been addressed is the legal protection of intangible cultural heritage (such as legends, ceremonies, languages and other traditions). Conventional INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY standards are ill-suited to protect these characteristics of traditional cultures. An attempt by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to address the problem in the form of the 2003 Convention on the Preservation of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was initially not supported by Canada, apparently because our laws were not considered the level of protection promised by the Convention. Like most advanced countries, the Canadian legal system is very familiar with arbitration as a method of resolving disputes, including art. Each province will have specific laws recognizing the validity of arbitral awards that may need to be approved by the courts in disputes.15 There are no specific alternative dispute resolution procedures for art disputes. (e) examine the documents relating to the statutes, statutes or statutes of an artists` association; 4 Cf. in general, the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, which lasted until September 27, 2020, and the Canada Recovery Benefit, which lasted until October 23, 2021, and for the arts scene, emergency support from the Canada Council for the Arts: canadacouncil.ca/covid-19-information. Canada is also an important case study in art law, as federal legislation has continued to impact the art market since the 1970s. Federal laws concern the import and export of cultural property, as well as areas such as copyright, moral rights and, as a Canadian curiosity, “exhibition rights” for artists when their works are exhibited in museums and galleries. As a middle or “soft” power, Canada has always been involved in multilateralism on the world stage: in the context of art and cultural heritage, this means that Canada has signed almost every major international convention and agreement in this area. In many ways, Canada tends to go beyond what is required under its international legal obligations. This is reflected in the way Canada has implemented the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, as well as in the rights it has offered to artists (i.e., exhibition rights) that go beyond the requirements of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
If you plan to do business in other countries, remember that copyright protection depends on the national laws of the country where you are seeking protection. Since Canada is a federal state, it is important to remember the different levels of jurisdiction and the impact each could have on the art trade. While there are important laws and regulations at the federal level, each of Canada`s 10 provinces and three territories will also have its own rules in place. According to the Canadian Constitution, the provinces have jurisdiction over “property and civil rights,” meaning that significant controls over trade in cultural heritage are placed in the hands of the provinces, while federal power controls international imports and exports, as well as intellectual property.3 As a result, there are general cultural heritage laws at the provincial level that govern cultural heritage, monuments and archaeological sites (i.e., Each province will have its own). This means that they can vary; For example, the French province of Quebec will have a much more statist approach to cultural heritage than the nine English-speaking provinces. (a) invoke and cause to be executed, on request or ex officio, the presence of a person whose testimony the Committee considers necessary and require him to testify orally or in writing under oath and to furnish such documents or questions as the Committee considers necessary for the full consideration of matters within its jurisdiction; 2 See, for example, the activities of the auction house Heffel: “Colville masterpiece shatters artist record at Heffel`s virtual live auction”, Cision, 15 July 2020. A complete application for copyright registration must include the following: Owning the copyright in a work means that you have the exclusive right to commercially benefit from its use. Those who want to use your work must acquire the right or get your permission. (c) the right of artists to have access to advisory councils in which they can express their views on their status and on all other matters affecting them.