At Lexters, our Art Law practice sits at the crossroads of cultural heritage, international law, and the art market from –Old Masters to NFTs. We advise collectors, artists, galleries, museums, cultural institutions, and public bodies on a wide range of art-related legal matters—from provenance and restitution to transactions, financing, intellectual property, and tokenized art.
Our team understands the nuances of both the creative process and the commercial realities of the modern art world. Whether structuring acquisitions, negotiating loans or consignments, addressing artists’ rights, or planning the transfer and inheritance of art assets, we help clients navigate legal frameworks with clarity and foresight.
This extends equally to the digital sphere, where we advise on NFT drops, smart contract design, and digital provenance systems that safeguard authenticity and traceability. We assist artists in securing royalties on secondary sales, collectors in managing cross-border transfers of digital assets, and platforms in building compliant frameworks for marketplace operations. Our work spans disputes over unauthorized minting, copyright infringement in virtual environments, and questions of ownership in the metaverse – ensuring that artists’ and collectors’ rights are preserved as confidently online as they are in the physical art market.
We also represent clients in art-related disputes, including litigation over ownership, authenticity, breach of contract, or regulatory matters – defending their rights and reputation in high-stakes, most often cross-border, proceedings.
Our fields of expertise
- Cross-border & arbitration – Handling jurisdictional, tax, import/export, and dispute resolution issues across Europe and beyond.
- Provenance, restitution & ownership – Complex artmarket investigations, title disputes, reclamation of looted or misappropriated works.
- Blockchain-based provenance verification and disputes over unauthorized minting or tokenisation.
- Cultural property & heritage protection – Strategic representation in claims involving national treasures, including temporary export bans and heritage listings.
- Guidance under UNESCO and European conventions.
- Transactions & financing – Support on art-backed loans, acquisitions, consignments, escrow arrangements, and gallery agreements.
- Structuring NFT sales, smart contracts, and tokenisation models, including fractional ownership and secondary market royalties.
- Authenticity, attribution & copyright – Disputes around forgery, attribution, moral rights, reproduction rights and resale royalties.
- Protection of digital art in metaverse environments, copyright enforcement against unauthorized NFT minting, and guidance on platform liability.
International Reach, Local Insight
Art law rarely stops at national borders. Most of the matters we handle involve cross-border transactions, competing jurisdictions, and complex questions of international private and public law. The same is true for NFTs and digital marketplaces, where questions of jurisdiction, taxation, and consumer rights intersect. At Lexters, our team’s multi-jurisdictional expertise – rooted in both EU and US legal systems – enables us to assist clients seamlessly across Romania and beyond. Whether advising on provenance disputes, cross-border restitution claims, or international lending and acquisitions, we bring global clarity to local challenges.
Work Highlights
- El Greco painting held by Christie’s New York – In early 2025, Lexters, acting alongside Nixon Peabody, represented the Romanian State in a high-profile action to block the sale of an El Greco painting at Christie’s New York, based on national cultural heritage significance. This swift intervention resulted in an export prohibition and ongoing proceedings under Romanian law—showcasing our ability to protect national patrimony on the global stage.
- Brâncuși Copyright – Lexters authored a legal analysis clarifying the copyright status of the monumental Brâncuși Ensemble in Târgu Jiu, Romania. The study – published by ASDPI and co-authored by Irina Vasile – demonstrates that the work entered the public domain in 1973, contrary to prior court interpretations that wrongly attributed copyright to private heirs. The article dismantles these claims through rigorous legal and logical reasoning, reinforcing the public cultural status of Brâncuși’s heritage.
- CJEU Ruling Analysis in Legal 500 – Lexters published an in-depth analysis of landmark CJEU rulings concerning the copyright protection of applied art – specifically addressing the iconic DSW chair design. Featured on Legal 500, the article explores how these decisions redefine the scope of copyright in functional objects and harmonize protection standards across the EU. The piece highlights our capacity to translate complex jurisprudence into strategic guidance for creators, institutions, and cultural stakeholders operating across borders.
- NFT Platforms & Digital Royalties – Lexters has advised in-site institutions and digital platforms such as the Universal Museum of Hip-Hop in New York and Clapart on structuring their entry into the NFT space. Our work included designing contractual frameworks with artists, developing compliant models for sponsorships and donations, and implementing smart contract royalty mechanisms to ensure artists automatically receive resale rights on secondary markets. By aligning innovative blockchain tools with copyright, cultural, and charitable law requirements, we enable museums and platforms alike to embrace digital innovation without compromising their legal and cultural missions.
Why Choose Lexters
From representing the Romanian State in high-stakes disputes to advising major cultural institutions, Lexters delivers government-grade legal counsel with boutique precision.
We lead cross-border cases across the EU, US, and beyond, handling complex matters that span copyright, customs, taxation, M&A, and litigation – as well as emerging challenges in digital art, NFTs, and metaverse rights.
Art doesn’t exist in a legal vacuum – and neither do we. Our holistic approach reflects the multifaceted nature of the cultural sector, combining heritage protection with cutting-edge digital innovation and offering clients both depth and agility.
