Round table ‘Art and Law: The 21st Century’

The lecture hall of the General Staff building (State Hermitage Museum) hosted a round table ‘Art and Law: The 21st Century’, organized by the State Hermitage Museum and the law firm Gorodissky & Partners.

Marina Tsyguleva, Head of the State Hermitage's Legal Service, gave the welcome address.

The event's participants discussed the methodology of recognizing a trademark as well-known, using the designation ‘State Hermitage’ as an example.

The roundtable participants Victor Stankovsky, Partner, Russian Patent Attorney, Eurasian Patent & Design Attorney, Regional Director, Valeria Nazarova, Partner, Trademark Attorney (both of Gorodissky & Partners, St. Petersburg), Nikita Maltsev, Ph.D., Trademark Attorney, Lawyer, Valery Narezhny, Ph.D., Counsel (both of Gorodissky & Partners, Moscow) and Natalia Nikolaeva, Partner, Trademark Attorney, Regional Director (Gorodissky & Partners, Novosibirsk) discussed a wide range of issues, including copyright protection, the legal aspects of museums' participation in business marketing activities and the use of objects of cultural and historical significance for commercial purposes. They also discussed the risks arising from the turnover of objects involving the heirs of authors.

In addition to discussing advertising labelling issues on the internet and the complexities of acquiring art objects from legatees, special interest was aroused by the current hot topic on the protectability of paintings created using artificial intelligence and the possible right owners to them.

The event became a platform for the exchange of experience between representatives of Russia's leading museums, legal practitioners, industry experts and business representatives.