Representative publications lectures etc.
About Cristina Manasse
Avv. Cristina Manasse
Cristina Manasse integrates her experience and expertise in corporate and commercial law, art and IP law, and more recent involvement with digital legal issues, not only for the art world and the business of art but also for disruptive tech companies. In addition to working with her “of counsel” network of lawyers, she also often works closely with larger law firms.
She started practicing as a lawyer in Milan in the early 90s in corporate and commercial law. While working in the Milan office of an international law firm, she was given a long-term assignment to advise a prestigious art auction house, which led her into art law. Over the next several decades, Cristina advised clients in all parts of the art world and the business of art. In recent years, she has expanded her practice to counsel on the transactional issues of startups and other disruptive tech companies.
Practice Areas
- International Contracts
- Intellectual Property
- Art & Photography Law
Education
- Laurea in Law, University of Milan
- Postgraduate Specialization in EU Law & Economics, University of Milan
- IP School, Bocconi University
- Kings College, London
Bar Admission
- Admitted to the Milan Bar in 1990
Languages
- Italian
- English
- Spanish (native)
- French
- German
Faculty Affiliate
- ASK Centre, Bocconi University
Of Counsel
- Cristina serves as “of counsel” with GLOBAL CAPITAL, a Disruptive Tech law & strategy firm.
Art & Culture
In art and culture law, Cristina advises participants in the art world on all legal issues related to art and photography law, and intellectual property (e.g., licensing, restitution, digitization, exhibitions, purchase & sale, inheritance, title & provenance, forgeries, and IP rights protection) and also on digital matters and business models. She advises private and institutional collectors, museums, art galleries, auction houses, cultural organizations, artists, fair organizers and sponsors, media & broadcasting companies, and publishers.
In many of her projects she brings her broad and deep expertise to bear: For seven years she was the main legal advisor to an international art fair, drafting all agreements involved in the organization of the fair, the creation of the platform, the IP issues of all its organization, the drafting of rulings for awards, contracts for sponsors, dealing with collecting societies, etc.
Disruptive Tech
In commercial and corporate law, she drafts and negotiates agreements relating to mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, international distribution and licensing, terms of use, and privacy policies.
Lectures & Publications
She is the author of various articles, a regular speaker at international and national conferences on art law and art-related and IP topics, and a visiting lecturer for various graduate programs, including Bocconi University (where she is a researcher affiliate and specialist on art law and IP at the ASK Centre, and lectures also at SDA – Master MAMA and Master ACME as Photography/Art law specialist), NABA, Luiss, and the University of Milan. She served as a teaching assistant in Civil and Private law (Prof. De Nova and Prof Trimarchi) for twelve years.
From 2006 through 2008, she was co-chair and chairman of the Art, Cultural Institutions, and Heritage Law Committee of the International Bar Association, after having served in various other capacities as an officer of that committee from 2001. She was also the Italian national representative to the European Lawyers Association.
She is a columnist for the US legal publication on IP issues, New Matters, and the European publication, Aperitivo Illustrato.
Professional Engagements
Selected Publications
NPhotography, PhotoProfessional, SPREA (Since 2018)
- Responsible for legal columns in two specialized photography publications.
New Matter (Since 2016)
- Responsible for the column “IP and Art: an international perspective” in the publication of the Commissione di Proprietà Intellettuale dell’Ordine degli Avvocati della California (State Bar of California).
- Example articles:
- Freedom of Panorama: a lively debate in the European Union.
- Originality in photos: from the iconic red bus in UK to Jimi Hendrix in France.
Aperitivo Illustrato – The Art Review (Since 2014)
- Responsible for the column “About Photography and Law” in the publication.
- Example articles:
- Works of art: their use and appropriation.
- Photo upskirting in US.
- A statue inspired by a photograph: parody?
- “Il selfie del macaco: diritto d’autore per gli animali?” for the Pubblicazione Annuale dell’Ordine degli Avvocati di Milano.
Selected Courses/Lectures
IULM, Milano, Master in Art Management
- Course: Diritto dell’arte dell’opera contemporanea nel diritto d’autore.
Bocconi SDA – Master MAMA (Master in Art Management and Administration, biennial program in English)
- Course: Photography: legal issues and stories on Intellectual property rights around the world.
Bocconi – Master ACME (Master in Economics and Management in Arts, Culture, Media and Entertainment, triennial program in English)
- Course: Cultural entities. Photographs as artworks. Use of images.
Bocconi – 2nd Workshop series on IP
- Discussant for topics including “Sword art online, legal questions for present and upcoming utopia” and “Disruption by copyright: live broadcasting of chess games and other peculiar legal battles.”
Bocconi SDA – Master MAMA
- Course: Photography Law.
Bocconi: IP Advanced Master
- Course: IP Rights for Museums (diritti della proprietà intellettuale per musei).
Selected Presentations
Palazzo Reale, Milano
- Presentation on “Le donne nelle fotografie al centro di casi internazionali: dalla condivisione all’upskirting” at the ADGI (Associazione donne giuriste d’Italia) conference.
Palazzo di Giustizia, Milano
- Member of the organizing committee and speaker on “Utilizzazione di immagini: diritti e conflitti. Dalla condivisione all’appropriazione” at the conference “La tutela della fotografia.”
Palazzo di Giustizia, Milano
- Member of the organizing committee and speaker on “Originalità, plagio e parodia nel mondo delle immagini” at the conference “Arte, letteratura e diritto.”
Palazzo di Giustizia, Milano
- Presentation on “Il famoso selfie del macaco: diritto d’autore per gli animali?”
Milano Photo Week, Palazzo Reale, Milano
- Organizer and speaker on “Plagio, privacy e pinguini: aggiornamenti e curiosità del diritto della fotografia.”
World VR Forum, Crans-Montana, Switzerland
- Presentation on “So you want to use Content: legal issues.”