Art and Cultural Heritage Law: Statutes & Regulations

Archeological Resources Protection Act of 1979

• 16 U.S.C. 470aa - 470mm This link opens in a new window
• Under this section, Congress determined that archaeological resources on public lands and Indian lands are an accessible and irreplaceable part of he Nation's heritage. And, additionally, these resources are increasingly endangered because of their commercial attractiveness and that existing Federal laws do not provide adequate protection to prevent the loss and destruction of these archeological resources and sites resulting from uncontrolled excavations and pillage.
• Regulations
  • Protection of Archaeological Resources: Uniform Regulations, 18 C.F.R. 1312.1 - 1312.21 This link opens in a new windo
    • The regulations in this part implement provisions of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 by establishing the uniform definitions, standards and procedure to be followed by all Federal land managers in providing protection for archaeological resources, located on public lands and Indian lands of the United States.
  • Heritage Preservation, 25 C.F.R. 262.1 - 262.8 This link opens in a new window
    • The purpose of this part is to implement certain provisions of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979, and includes regulations on Native American archaeological resources.
  • Protection of Archaeological Resources, 43 C.F.R. 7.1 - 7.37 This link opens in a new window
    • These regulations enable Federal land managers to protect archaeological resources, taking into consideration provisions of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, through permits authorizing excavation and/or removal of archaeological resources through civil penalties for unauthorized practices.

Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987, 43 U.S.C. 2101 - 2106 This link opens in a new windo

• This Act applies to abandon shipwrecks in submerged state lands, and it abrogates the law of find and salvage. Under this provision, the United States takes title to these shipwrecks and then ownership is transferred to the state where the shipwreck is located.

Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. 101 - 805 This link opens in a new windo

• Under United States Copyright law, works of art are protected from modification, adaption, copying, and other types of unauthorized dissemination. This Act applies to the creation, ownership, reproduction, and dissemination of works of art.
• Regulations
  • Copyright Office and Procedures, 37 C.F.R. 201.2 - 212.8 This link opens in a new windo
  • Regulations promulgated by the U.S. Copyright Office governing copyright registration and other procedures, including regulations regarding the Visual Arts Registry and specific requirements for the registration of pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works.

Cultural Property

• Convention of Cultural Property Implementation Act, 19 U.S.C. 2601 - 2613 This link opens in a new windo
  • This Act implements the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property and authorizes the President to enter into bilateral agreements with party nations to prevent the importa of certain "archaeological or ethnological material".
• Regulations
  • Cultural Property, 19 C.F.R. 12.104 - 12.109 This link opens in a new windo
    • Regulations governing the import of certain cultural property and pre-Columbian sculptures and murals.
  • Preservation of American Antiquities, 43 C.F.R. 3.1 - 3.17 This link opens in a new window
    • Regulations from the Department of the Interior regarding cultural property, including jurisdictional guidances and permit procedures.
  • World Heritage Convention, 36 C.F.R. 73.1 - 73.17 This link opens in a new window
    • The purpose of these rules is to set forth the policies and procedures that the Department of the Interior, through the National Park Service (NPS), uses to direct and coordinate U.S. participation in the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, which was ratified by the Senate on October 26, 1973.

Immunity from Seizure under Judicial Process of Cultural Objects Imported for Temporary Exhibition or Display, 22 U.S.C. 2459 This link opens in a new windo

• This provision protects certain works of art and "other objects of cultural significance" imported into the United States for temporary exhibition at a museum or similar institution from seizure under judicial process.

Importation of Pre-Columbian Monumental or Architectural Sculpture or Murals, 19 U.S.C. 2091 - 2095 This link opens in a new windo

• This Act prohibits the importation of certain stone carvings and wall art that is the "product of a pre-Columbian Indian culture of Mexico, Central America, South America, or the Caribbean Islands."

National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965, 20 U.S.C. 951 - 960

• The act established the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities for the purpose of developing and promoting a broad national policy of support for the humanities and the arts in the United States, and for institutions which preserve the cultural heritage of the United States.
• Regulations
  • National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities, 45 C.F.R. 1100.1 - 1186.670 This link opens in a new windo
  • The National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities was established by the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965. he foundation is composed of the national Endowment for the Arts, the national Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

National Heritage Areas Act of 2006 - 16 U.S.C. 461 - 470x-6 This link opens in a new windo

• Under this Act, Congress declared that "it is a national policy to preserve for public use historic sites, buildings, and objects of national significance for the inspiration and benefit of the United States."

Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act

• 18 U.S.C. 1170 This link opens in a new windo
• Illegal trafficking in Native American human remains and cultural items -- This Act protects Native American burial sites by prohibiting unauthorized excavation and trafficking in certain items, such as human remains and funerary objects. It also establishes a system for the repatriation of items removed prior to the effective date of the Act.
• Regulations
  • Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Regulations, 43 C.F.R. 10.1 - 10.17 This link opens in a new window
    • These regulations develop a systematic process for determining the rights of lineal descendants and Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations to certain native American human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony with which they are affiliated.

Stolen Property

• National Stolen Property Act, 18 U.S.C. 2314 - 15 This link opens in a new windo
  • This Act prohibits, among other things, the knowing transportation or sale of stolen or fraudulently obtained merchandise (e.g., a work of art) worth $5,000 or more.
• Theft of Major Artwork, 18 U.S.C. 668 This link opens in a new window
  • Prohibits the theft of major works of art and cultural objects from museums in the United States