Research Guides : Florida Entertainment, Arts, Sports, and Music Law: Statutes, Treaties, and Agreements

Selected Relevant Statutes

Historic Sites, Buildings, Objects, and Antiquities
16 U.S.C. §§ 461 - 470x-6; repealed, Pub. L. 113-287, 128 Stat. 3272 (2014)
Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) of 1979
16 U.S.C. §§ 470aa - 470mm, Pub. L. 96-95, 93 Stat. 721 (1979)
Theft of Major Artwork
18 U.S.C. § 668. Prohibits theft of major works of art and cultural objects from U.S. museums.
Importation of Pre-Columbian Monumental or Architectural Sculpture or Murals
19 U.S.C. §§ 2091 - 2095. Prohibits importation of certain stone carvings and wall art that are the "product[s] of a pre-Columbian Indian culture of Mexico, Central America, South America, or the Caribbean Islands[.]'"
Immunity from Seizure under Judicial Process of Cultural Objects Imported for Temporary Exhibition or Display
22 U.S.C. § 2459. Protects from seizure under judicial process certain works of art and "other objects of cultural significance" imported into the U.S. for temporary exhibition at museums or similar institutions.
Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987
43 U.S.C. §§ 2101-2106, Pub. L. No. 100-298, 102 Stat. 432 (1988).
Enforcement of Foreign Judgment
28 U.S.C. § 2467
Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act
19 U.S.C. §§ 2601-2613, Pub. L. 97-446, 96 Stat. 2329, 2350-2363
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Implements the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export, and transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.
Copyright Act of 1976, as amended
Pub. L. 94-553, 90 Stat. 2541 (1976) et al., codified in U.S. Code, Title 17.
National Stolen Property Act
18 U.S.C. §§ 2314-15
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
Codified at 25 U.S.C. §§ 3001-12; 18 U.S.C. 1170; Pub. L. No. 101-601, 104 Stat. 3048 (1990)
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Protects Native American burial sites by prohibiting unauthorized excavation and trafficking in certain items, including human remains and funerary objects; establishes system for repatriation of items removed prior to Act's effective date.
Receiving Stolen Property within Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction
18 U.S.C. § 662
Return of Property to Claimant, Liability for Wrongful Seizure
28 U.S.C. § 2465
Smuggling Goods from the United States
18 U.S.C. § 554

Selected Bilateral and Multilateral Treaties and Agreements

The U.S. Department of State Cultural Heritage Center administers the responsibilities of the United States under the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. The Office of the US Trade Representative lists the different trade agreements between the United States and other countries establishing import restrictions.

Fifty-State Survey

Statutory Art Definitions, Artist Statutory Definitions, Art Consignment and Art Merchants, Creditor's Exemption for Artworks, Auctioneering, Artists' Rights, and Multiples (Prints and Sculptures
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This is Appendix 1A, National Survey of State Laws, to Westlaw's Art, Artifact, Architecture & Museum Law treatise.
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The treatise is available on line via link under the Arts TAB to this guide, SUB-PAGE Treatises, Guides, Handbooks, and Casebooks.