Dentons Link Legal and Aura Art launch Art Law E-Book

Dentons Link Legal and Aura Art Development have jointly developed Art Law E-Book, to explore the unique point of convergence of art and principles of law.

The e-Book, which was launched by eminent personalities along with representatives from Dentons Link Legal and Aura Art on December 12 here, was accompanied by a curated show of fine art.

Bizz Buzz interacted with persons from various walks of life on the occasion.

Sanjay Bhatia, UpaLokayukta, Maharashtra said,

“It's something I think which the country needed. A legal practice on the art side - so that there is more safety for people who are involved in the art field.”

HarshaBhatkal, Publisher, Popular Prakashan says, “As a book publisher, we do know that intellectual property rights have become increasingly important as we move along. And the same is true for art and what is also true is that the artists or the writers or the authors are not adequately aware of some of these and nor was I was aware of it.”

So earlier you could just print any photograph in a book without bothering about whose book it is and who owns the property of rights of that. Same is true of art, a lot of people buy a painting and they use it for their Diwali card thinking that they bought all the rights, which may or may not actually be valid. So I'm very glad that you all have come together with Aura Art. We need to do this process of education because art collection is nascent, he said.

“Art is a visual piece. We enjoy. And artists paint. So this legal and all these things - no ABCD we know about all these. So this is a good Book, for artists and galleries and all,” eminent artist Charan Sharma said.

The first time was an Art Index which was launched at the Bombay Stock Exchange, along with IIM Ahmedabad, and now of course we have an Art Law E-Book.

“I'm sure there are many other projects along the side that he's been doing. Under his quiet demeanour, he and his brother, managed to... have impact on the art world in terms of what they've been doing. And they made a very valuable contribution to ensuring intellectual property is protected and also Indian art is recognized,” said Ashok Advani, Founder Publisher of Business India Group.

Nayona Roy, Partner, Dentons Link Legal said,

“While data is the new oil, IP is the new gold. Whether you're a creator, publisher or a collector of art, I think lawyers better be your best friends... While art is definitely an investment vehicle, it is so much more than an asset. It's history... And there could be nothing more sad than it being copied, as a counterfeit being created out of it. Provenance of art takes centerstage.”

When you're buying property, you do a diligence. When you're buying a company, you do a due diligence. Why would you not do that for art, that could possibly be as expensive or perhaps even more than a house itself?... Through this e-Book, we've tried to give you a snapshot of all the legal elements that come across - whether it's taxation, intellectual property rights, transactions, etc. However, no matter what your requirement is, whether its procurement, selling, transactions or God forbid a dispute we've got you covered.”

Today art is just not about the expression of the artist, but it transforms into an asset class. It transforms into commerce. Anything that transfers into commerce requires legal protection.

“And I think it's important for us to create that awareness, about the fact that this particular asset class, you need to protect it, if you are looking to pass it on to generations and use it also beneficially as a part of your assets which you collect along through your life ... We are in India the first international law firm and we are the largest law firm in the world, so we are able to do cross-partner transactions very comfortably,” said

Nusrat Hassan, Managing Partner, India, Dentons Link Legal.

Rishiraj Sethi, Director, Aura Art Development said, “I am reminded of the profound words of Nils Christie "Maybe law is closer related to art than most of us are aware of. But art and power do often stand in a strained relationship." And that is the reason I guess friends that we need a robust art law framework in the country.”

So that the powers that be - whether of capitalism or governance - do not try to overpower and subjugate the creative forces. So that all the stakeholders in the art world - beginning with the artists who create these wonderful masterpieces, to the galleries who promote them, to the auction houses and private dealers who actually create a vibrant market for the artworks and most importantly the collectors who patronise them and need to get these collections managed by art infrastructure solution providers, lawyers and the like and lastly the government who wants to rightfully partake off their share of the pie - can all operate together with mutual fairness and trust, he said.