Art Law - Deacons

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Hong Kong’s only dedicated art law practice, with a multidisciplinary team of legal professionals based in the city.

Full-service offering that protects and optimises the purchase, sale, financing, loaning and storage of art and cultural property.

In the last two decades, the arts and antiquities industry has transformed into a global market behemoth, with total sales reaching US$64 billion in 2019. Hong Kong, standing at the nexus of East and West, is Asia’s premier international arts hub.

Reflecting the long-term growth of the arts market in Asia and increasing legal complexities around the buying, holding, financing and selling of art and cultural property, Deacons has established a dedicated arts practice comprising an experienced team of lawyers led by four partners and one counsel. The team advises on a diverse range of arts matters including the acquisition and disposal of collectables, the financing and lending of artworks, the protection of copyright, consignment and commercial agreements, tax and estate planning, charitable donations, and disputes over authenticity and ownership of title.

Our notable experience includes:

Advising an auction house and drafting all their contracts with clients and owners of art items
Advising on the establishment of an art fund
Advising an auction house on its loan facility
Advising on intellectual property ownership and licensing issues relating to a travelling exhibition of textile, installation and audio-visual art
Advising on the holding of a portfolio of contemporary Chinese art
Advising on the establishment of a charity for the promotion of art and artistic education in Hong Kong and the Greater China region
Advising on the importation into Hong Kong and holding structure of a Stradivarius violin
Advising on the importation of an antique ivory table following a dispute with the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department

If you would like to discuss how Deacons could help you or your company in relation to art law, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Art Law SERVICES

KEY CONTACTS

Philip Gilligan: Partner; Hong Kong; +852 2825 9716; English

Charmaine Koo: Partner; Hong Kong; +852 2825 9300; English, Cantonese, Mandarin

Machiuanna Chu: Partner; Hong Kong; +852 2825 9630; English, Cantonese, Mandarin

Richard Hudson: Partner; Hong Kong; +852 2825 9680; English

Stefano Mariani: Partner; Hong Kong; +852 2825 9314; English, Italian, French, German, Spanish

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Hong Kong’s only dedicated art law practice, with a multidisciplinary team of legal professionals based in the city.

Full-service offering that protects and optimises the purchase, sale, financing, loaning and storage of art and cultural property.

Art Law SERVICES

KEY CONTACTS

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1	It is often necessary for individual clients or (where clients are businesses, incorporated or otherwise) their individual representatives (including without limitation directors, other officers, employees and staff members of client businesses) (in this statement these individual representatives will, for the sake of brevity, also be referred to generally as “clients” and, in paragraph 4.7(b) below, as "Representatives") to supply Deacons with data about themselves in connection with Deacons’ provision of legal advice and services to those clients. These data may include copies, and other details, of identity documents, proof of address, other contact details, and proof of authority to instruct Deacons.

2	Failure to supply such data may result in Deacons being unable to provide clients with the legal services, or generally to give clients the legal advice, requested.

3	It is also the case that Deacons collects data from clients in the ordinary course of the client-solicitor relationship on an ongoing basis.

4	The purposes for which personal data relating to a client may be used are as follows:

	Obligatory purposes - if a client does not want Deacons to use his personal data for any of the purposes listed in paragraphs 4.1 to 4.6 below (inclusive), Deacons will not be able to provide the legal services, or give the legal advice, requested

	all kinds of personal data about a client will be used for -

		4.1	the provision of legal advice and services to the client in accordance with the instructions of the client and as Deacons may otherwise deem appropriate or necessary;

		4.2	designing legal services or related products for clients’ use;

		4.3	collection of outstanding fees from clients;

		4.4	meeting the requirements to conduct client identification and verification and to make disclosure under the requirements of any law, guideline, code of practice or practice direction binding on, or applicable to, Deacons or any of its branches or associated firms or offices including, but not limited to, any such law, guideline, code or practice direction relating to anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism;

		4.5	purposes specifically provided for in any particular service offered by Deacons;

		4.6	purposes directly related to any of the above;

			the client's name and contact details (including but not limited to office address, telephone number and email address) provided by the client to Deacons will be used for -

		4.7	marketing Deacons' own legal services and/or related products.

			If a client does not want Deacons to use his personal data for the purposes mentioned in paragraph 4.7 above, he may write to or email the officer named at the end of this statement, indicating his decision and/or return a copy of this statement to that officer.

			IMPORTANT NOTES about Deacons marketing:

				All marketing in relation to Deacons legal services and related products to Representatives is sent to them in their official capacity as representatives of the client business for whom they work or represent and not in their individual capacity.

5	Data held by Deacons relating to a client will generally be kept confidential but Deacons may provide such information for the above purposes to:

		5.1	any other branch or associated firm or office of Deacons;

		5.2	a government agency such as the Hong Kong Police, the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Service, the Hong Kong Immigration Service and the Independent Commission against Corruption, if Deacons knows or suspects that any person is engaged in drug trafficking, terrorism or any other serious crime or handling the proceeds of crime or that any property constitutes terrorist property; in this case, the obligation to report to the authorities may override Deacons' confidentiality obligations;

1	For people intending on applying for jobs within Deacons you should aware that it is necessary for staff members ('data subjects') to supply the Firm with data about themselves and sometimes also their family members from time to time in connection with their employment.

2	Failure to supply such data will result in the Firm being unable to operate its practice properly and may affect a data subject's employment prospects with the Firm and even result in dismissal.

3	The purposes for which data relating to data subjects are to be used are as follows:

	3.1	identification and determination of eligibility for employment in Hong Kong generally and qualifications relevant to data subject's employment with the Firm in particular;

	3.2	assessing work performance, attendance and disciplinary record;

	3.3	reviewing salaries, bonuses and other benefits;

	3.4	consideration of eligibility for staff loans;

	3.5	providing employee references;

	3.6	disclosure to immigration authorities - in relation to employment visa, where required;

	3.7	disclosure to tax authorities in the ordinary course of business;

	3.8	all other matters relating to employment of a data subject.

4	Data held by the Firm relating to data subjects will be kept confidential but the Firm is authorised to provide such information to:

	4.1	any person when the Firm is compelled to make disclosure under the requirements of any law binding on it or any of its branches, including, without limitation, tax authorities;

	4.2	any person with the express or implied consent of the data subject;

	4.3	any person where the interests of the Firm require disclosure;

	4.4	any person where the public interest requires disclosure;

	4.5	any agent, contractor, or third party service provider who provides administrative, telecommunications, computer or other services to the Firm in connection with the operation of its practice;

	4.6	any other person under a duty of confidentiality to the Firm including member of Deacons and other associated law firms and related business which has undertaken to keep such information confidential;

	4.7	persons seeking employee reference;

	4.8	Personnel Department staff of the Firm and supervisors of the data subject during the course of his/her employment; and