The Legal Guide For Museum Professionals

Museums are multifaceted institutions that reach across all disciplines and encounter a complex range of legal questions. Experts in museum and art law join forces in this essay-format volume. These unique, nonprofit cultural organizations face a myriad of legal concerns as they launch into the twenty-first century and will continue to require specific guidance. From intellectual property law to navigating waters of social media, de-accessioning concerns to governance law, copyright, and rights and reproduction questions to issues of public domain and public trust, The Legal Guide for Museum Professionals seeks to provide answers and courses of action for museums of all disciplines. This book will assist professionals in determining when to seek professional legal counsel and when to educate themselves and proceed on their own. The book was inspired by a panel of experts who have presented at numerous regional and national conferences for museum professionals are especially practiced at providing insight into current legal concerns, including: Gil Whittemore Esq. of Rath, Young and Pignatelli, P.C. and former Chair of the American Bar Association’s Museum Law Committee; Katherine E. Lewis Esq. Chair of the American Bar Association’s Museum Law Committee and practicing New York attorney; Mark S. Gold Esq. practicing attorney in Williamstown, MA with the firm of Parese, Sabin, Smith & Gold LLP who has written and edited extensively on all aspects of museum and art law. All three contributed to this volume.

In Art Law: A Concise Guide for Artists, Curators, and Museum Professionals, Michael E. Jones breaks down the legal language into a concise tool for all those involved in the art world.

Presented in an easily digestible format, this go-to desktop reference guide provides explanations and clarifications on a variety of legal issues and concerns facing today’s museum professional in over 200 plain-language dictionary entries. Alphabetized and extensively cross-referenced, this text will provide a quick go-to when a general introduction to or refresher of a concept is needed on the go, including: Intellectual property issues, including copyright, trademarks, and fair use Corporate issues, including nonprofit status and tax-exemption Governance issues, including boards of trustees and fiduciary duties The second edition adds over 40 new dictionary entries that address emerging issues in the field such as the 2019 FASB update and direct care of collections, plus new topics such as marital property and business structures. The text is divided into three main sections: In the first, over forty common acronyms and symbols are explained, and over twenty statutes impacted museum work are listed, with common names or acronyms plus citations provided. In the second, over 200 terms are concisely defined and situated specifically in relation to the day-to-day work of the museum professional, each cross-referenced to related definitions. In the third, ten additional topics are developed in depth, allowing the subtleties and complications to be examined and explained in an accessible plain-language manner. Further, the supplemental, in-focus section includes new chapters on museum deaccessioning and disposal, business structures, and worker classification and independent contractors in addition to updated chapters on topics ranging from intellectual property to business formation, tax-exempt status, and worker classification. Written by a past museum director with legal training, this reference book is intended to be kept within arm’s reach at a desk and be the first stop for a professional whenever a question arises.

Museums must comply with a myriad of laws and ethical codes regulating virtually every aspect of their organization and operations. While some of these issues are common to businesses of all kinds, some apply to nonprofit organizations, and others are unique to the museum community. MUSEUM ADMINISTRATION: LAW AND PRACTICE explores the many areas of law applicable to museums, including governance, personnel, facilities, intellectual property, collections management, and fundraising. Designed as a textbook for use in connection with museums studies programs and law school courses, the book utilizes a "casebook" approach: relevant court decisions and other primary source materials illustrate and enliven the descriptive text. Study questions are included in each chapter so that readers can apply legal and ethical principles to museum-focused fact situations. A comprehensive but concise introduction to the legal and ethical issues facing museums, MUSEUM ADMINISTRATION: LAW AND PRACTICE is also intended to be a resource for museum professionals and lawyers alike.

From one of America’s foremost experts in museum and cultural heritage law, here is a comprehensive guide to both U.S. and international laws and conventions affecting museums, art galleries, natural and historic heritage, and other cultural organizations. This authoritative guide: begins naturally with laws protecting art and artists (include artists’ freedom of expression, invasion of privacy, right of publicity, and trade laws), moves on to protection of artists’ property rights through copyright laws, and then goes into international laws and conventions (with full coverage of the Hugue Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import and Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, and the UNIDROIT Convention on the International Return of Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects), features full coverage of U.S. laws protecting cultural heritage such as the Antiquities Act, the Historic Sites Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, the National Film Preservation, State Preservation Acts, and the National Stolen Properties Act includes detailed coverage of U.S. laws protecting our natural heritage such as the Lacey Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Marine Mammal Protection Act features much needed current coverage of laws affecting the operation of museums, ranging from organizational structure and accounting to governance and use of guards and volunteers includes invaluable details of laws related to museum collections, including: purchases loans gifts deaccessioning detailed coverage of laws and regulations governing the tax-exempt status for museums, including how to fill out required forms unprecedented attention to museums’ unrelated business taxable income from such increasingly common activities as gifts shops, snack bars, travel tours, and sponsorships. No museum, cultural heritage site, or historical site can afford to be without this authoritative guide.

While not offering formal legal advice, this guide is designed to give museum professionals a clearer understanding of intellectual property issues as they intersect with museum practice. It outlines a legal framework for understanding copyright and trademark principles, and applies that framework to actual and hypothetical examples. Chapters focus on copyright, trademark, the World Wide Web, licensing, and international issues. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Between the countless works of art in the world and numerous laws on their care, the task of deciphering correct procedure can seem daunting. In Art Law: A Concise Guide for Artists, Curators, and Art Educators, Michael E. Jones breaks down the legal language into a concise tool for all those involved in the art world. While most art law books are written for law students or museum directors, trustees, and curators, Jones’ book appeals to a far larger audience, particularly undergraduate and graduate students studying art, graphic design, photography, museum studies, art education and art business. It is also a useful research guide for museum professionals, gallery directors, foundation heads, working professional visual fine artists and board/trustee members. Art Law distinguishes itself by providing a broad scope of art law in relation to the world of artists and those organizations that support, preserve, govern, display, and even sell art. Covering topics such as acquisition, grants, and buying and selling, this book takes a look at the ethical and legal issues and rights that confront the art community and museums. Through case studies complete with images, readers can see these topics in action. Art Law is a must-have guide for art educators, museum studies students, art law and business programs, and artists looking for clear and readable descriptions and answers to the relevant legal issues facing the art world community.

The first of its kind to offer a discussion of financial management particular to historic house museums, this book is a vital resource to preservationists, staff, volunteers, and board members of historic houses. A reference tool that is accessible in approach yet comprehensive in scope, this book takes you step by step through securing and managing a historic house museum for years to come. In straightforward language, utilizing case studies from historic house museums, and providing sample documents to get you started, Financial Fundamentals for Historic House Museums guides you on how to: Incorporate as a tax-exempt organization Find historic property designation options and successfully apply Understand contributed income opportunities and raise money Create sustainable earned income opportunities Understand basic accounting and financial planning to ensure the future of your historic house museum.