Simon is a commercial lawyer with almost twenty years’ experience working inside the art world and creative industries. He advises an impressive range of clients including global galleries, art collectors, artists and other creatives, ultra-high-net-worth individuals and technology-driven art businesses.
Simon provides solutions on a range of industry-specific matters, often involving complex and novel issues, and requiring a multi-jurisdictional perspective. He provides strategic legal and commercial consultancy, and advises on commercial contracts, intellectual property rights and copyright issues, and the legal implications of new technologies like blockchain, digital assets, smart contracts and AI.
Simon sits on the Philanthropy Board of Art UK and has longstanding relationships with prominent art collectors across the globe, helping them to build and maintain world-class art collections. He curates cultural programmes in collaboration with major institutions including the Royal Academy of Arts, and is a prominent public speaker in relation to art, law and technology.
Expertise
Art galleries, art dealers, art collectors and other art-market participants
- commercial matters combining legal and art world experience;
- sale and purchase agreements;
- artist representation agreements;
- IP;
- settlement agreements;
- contractual resale restrictions; and
- resale royalties.
Art collectors
- legal and artworld advice;
- sale and purchase agreements;
- exhibition lending agreements; and
- co-ordination of other specialist lawyers including insurance, tax, trusts and estates.
Artists and artist estates
- legal and artworld advisory services;
- public commission agreements;
- copyright;
- exhibition agreements;
- gallery representation; and
- sponsorship arrangements.
Tech platforms
- blockchain;
- AI and IP;
- NFTs;
- smart contracts; and
- fractional ownership.
General
- goods and service agreements;
- terms and conditions;
- trading agreements; and
- media and entertainment contracts including:
- marketing agreements
- market research agreements
- licensing agreements
- partnerships agreements
- sponsorship agreements
- publishing agreements.
Experience
Commercial Contracts
- Retained by a leading global art gallery to advise on a broad range of commercial matters including artist representation agreements, IP contracts, settlement agreements, terms and conditions, contractual resale restrictions and resale royalties.
- Advised a new art advisory business on terms of business.
- Advised a world-renowned American artist on a range of contracts relating to museum exhibitions, gallery representation, IP and public commissions.
- Assisted the studio of a prominent British artist on a major public art commission involving multiple agreements throughout the process from concept to construction.
- Advised the estate of a leading 20th century artist on the posthumous release and sale of editioned artworks in physical and digital form in collaboration with a European museum.
- Advised the estate of a major American artist on the sale of digital versions of the artist’s world-renowned sculptures.
- Advised a chart-topping British podcaster on various contracts pertaining to production and distribution, ad-revenue share, IP and sponsorship.
- Advised on a complex suite of agreements for the publication of an anthology comprising original fiction and artworks by multiple writers and artists.
- Negotiated the licensing agreement between an IP owner and the world-leading audiobook company.
- Negotiated multiple agreements for the provision of marketing and market research between an international agency and various Hollywood studios.
- Represented a London-based agency in contract negotiations relating to partnerships between leading consumer brands and various film and TV studios.
Private Client
- Advised a prominent UHNW art collector, on multiple purchases and disposals of artworks including paintings and sculpture, often with multi-jurisdictional elements including the UK, USA and EU.
- Advised on the settlement agreement alongside international dispute resolution attorneys on a complex matter involving damage to a high-value artwork.
- Advised a HNW individual on the ownership structure of their art collection alongside lawyers in various jurisdictions specialising in tax, property, trusts and estates.
- Advised a celebrated film director on the acquisition of an artwork which had inspired their blockbuster movie.
- Negotiated museum loans and associated agreements on behalf of prominent art collectors, HNW and UHNW individuals.
Cryptocurrency and Digital Assets (inc blockchain)
- Advised the board of a leading global commercial art gallery on a range of art-tech issues including acceptance of cryptocurrency as payment and the use of blockchain, blockchain-based certificates of authenticity, NFTs, smart contracts and IP matters relating to digital assets and art.
- Advised a new art-tech platform backed by major artworld institutions on various matters pre- and post-launch and co-ordinated multi-jurisdictional legal advice in connection with the development of innovative blockchain products and services for the art world.
- Advised an online art sales platform on its UK and EU launch followed by expansion into the US and Asia and assisted with re-drafting the general terms and conditions co-ordinating input from lawyers in several jurisdictions.
- Advised an online platform for the sale of art and luxury goods, and led a team of international lawyers advising on the legal structure necessary to effect the transfer of ownership of a physical asset in tandem with an associated blockchain token.
- Advised a new digital platform seeking to democratise ownership of art and fundraise for museums through tokenisation and fractional ownership of major artworks held by national museums.
- Assisted a high-profile American artist on implementing a copyright agreement with studio assistants for artworks produced using technology and incorporating digital assets, and negotiated associated settlement agreements.
- Advised a group of leading contemporary artists on their participation in a DAO created to own and facilitate the trade of new digital artworks by the artists.
- Advised a leading international artist on the IP licensing arrangements in respect of new artworks created for a metaverse and associated video game, through which the artist’s digital art could be acquired.
- Advised a top-selling artist on the creation of digital twins of his most famous paintings.
- Advised a distinguished digital Swiss artist on the viability of selling their art with associated NFTs and other matters.
- Devised an IP protection strategy for a new blockchain-based business founded by a leading international art fair.
- Advised the board of a prominent art-tech business on a complex IP matter focused on a potential patent infringement in the USA, EU and other jurisdictions to negotiate a commercial licence and settlement agreement, saving the client multiple millions of dollars.
- Assisted with the recovery of a blockchain-based domain name for a prominent commercial art gallery working alongside lawyers in the USA.
- Advised an UHNW digital art collector on the purchase of NFTs and the associated digital artworks.
- Advised an art-tech platform on statutory and contractual artist resale rights in the context of blockchain-based art transactions.
- Provided advice to an UHNW on the creation of DAOs.
- Advised an art-tech platform and their clients on the copyright position in respect of artworks created by AI.
- Advised artist studios working with AI on IP ownership and other matters.
Please note: The experience list above may include examples of work completed prior to joining Keystone Law.
Recognition
Member of the Art Lawyers Association
Various speaking engagements including:
- Deloitte’s Art & Finance Conference at the Vatican
- Kunsthalle Zurich
- Talk Art podcast
- Art Basel
- London School of Economics.
Provided evidence for a House of Lords cross-party Parliamentary enquiry into the impact of technology on the creative industries
Career
Simon qualified as a solicitor in 2005. Prior to joining Keystone Law in 2024, he worked at the following firms:
- Simon Oldfield Art Associates
- Hauser & Wirth (Consultant)
- Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner