Clear. Competent. Committed.

I am Guy Bockamp and I advise on EU law, art and copyright law and the law governing museums and collections - clearly, competently and with commitment.

In my private office specialize in the protection of creative achievements and issues of restitution of cultural property from colonial contexts.

Clear. Competent. Committed.

I am Guy Bockamp and I advise on EU law, art and copyright law and the law governing museums and collections - clearly, competently and with commitment.

My private law firm is specialized in the Protection of creative services and questions of Restitution of cultural assets from colonial contexts.

about me
Art & Culture

About me

Let's keep it short:

If you are interested in my professional career, please have a look at my LinkedIn profile

I was born in Hamburg in 1979, studied law, economics and computer science at Cambridge University (UK) and at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, worked for a Texas law firm and the University of Texas at Austin in a German ministry (Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and Federal Ministry of Economics and Labor) and in the political arena as an assistant to the Federal Minister of Finance. I have been a lawyer since 2007.

During this time, I litigated several intellectual property cases before the German Federal Court of Justice and fought for LGBTIQ+ refugees together with Rainbow Refugees.

What moves me as a person

Being human means taking responsibility - for oneself, for others, for what has been and for what is and will be. It is the ability to recognize and understand injustice and not to accept it. Being human means empathizing and getting involved, even when it becomes uncomfortable.

Being human means striving for knowledge and not being satisfied with simple answers just because they flatter us or are convenient for us. It means enduring complexity, understanding connections and constantly questioning your own perspective. Because if you want to develop further, you have to be prepared to be challenged by new ideas.

But it is also the desire for expression - in art, culture and language. Creativity and freedom are not an accessory, but the core of what makes us human. Our stories, our creations, our memories - that is our heritage. And it deserves protection.

Above all, however, being human is not just about striving for what is one's own, but also about recognizing others. It means not only adhering to rules, but also wanting justice. Not just knowing rights, but taking responsibility. Not just to observe, but to act.

Being human is the search for meaning. Sometimes it is contradiction, sometimes it is clarity - but it is always the decision to take responsibility.

About me

If you are interested in my professional career in detail, please have a look at my LinkedIn profile

I was born in Hamburg in 1979, studied law, economics and computer science at Cambridge University (UK) and at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, worked for a Texas law firm and the University of Texas at Austin in a German ministry (Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and Federal Ministry of Economics and Labor) and in the political arena as an assistant to the Federal Minister of Finance. I have been a lawyer since 2007.

During this time, I litigated several intellectual property cases before the German Federal Court of Justice and fought for LGBTIQ+ refugees together with Rainbow Refugees.

What moves me as a person

Being human means taking responsibility - for oneself, for others, for what has been and for what is and will be. It is the ability to recognize and understand injustice and not to accept it. Being human means empathizing and getting involved, even when it becomes uncomfortable.

Being human means striving for knowledge and not being satisfied with simple answers just because they flatter us or are convenient for us.

It means enduring complexity, understanding connections and constantly questioning your own perspective. Because if you want to develop further, you have to be prepared to be challenged by new ideas.

But it is also the desire for expression - in art, culture and language. Creativity and freedom are not an accessory, but the core of what makes us human. Our stories, our creations, our memories - that is our heritage. And it deserves protection.

Above all, however, being human is not just about striving for what is one's own, but also about recognizing others. It means not only adhering to rules, but also wanting justice. Not just knowing rights, but taking responsibility. Not just to observe, but to act.

Being human is the search for meaning. Sometimes it is contradiction, sometimes it is clarity - but it is always the decision to take responsibility.

Companies I have founded

Security and reliability for art

Clear contracts between artists and galleries

Whether a long-term collaboration or a single exhibition - legal agreements create transparency and security. A gallery or exhibition contract regulates which works are shown, how the sale is organized and what rights and obligations both parties have.

A Practical sample and a checklist help you to keep an eye on the most important points.

More about gallery and exhibition contracts

International comparison

However, not all gallery businesses are the same: what is called a "commission" in Germany is known in France as a " dépôt-vente " and in the USA as "consignment". We explain the differences for Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the USA - clearly, comprehensibly and practically. This makes it clear what is important if your works are to be shown and sold internationally.

Art distribution: an international comparison of contracts

Reliable contracts for the utilization of art

Whether original production or reproduction from the original - an art publishing contract regulates how works are reproduced, distributed and remunerated. In this way, artists retain control over their rights, while publishers gain planning security.

A Practical sample and a Checklist (German) help to clearly record the most important points from circulation to remuneration.

Art distribution: an international comparison of contracts

Political art

Art can and must provoke, question and expose power relations. Political art consciously takes on this role: it contradicts, accuses, exposes and gives a voice to those who would otherwise remain unheard.

Whether painting, film, performance or digital media - political art addresses current social conflicts and poses uncomfortable questions. It operates at the interface between aesthetics and activism, often in the area of tension between freedom of expression and censorship, between artistic freedom and legal boundaries.

Especially in times of social change, political art is not only an expression, but also an intervention. It challenges - and that is precisely what makes it indispensable.

Responsibility and culture

Art and culture are not just entertainment, and certainly not a joke - they shape our thinking, challenge norms and create identity on a social level. They tell stories that last for generations, make the invisible visible and provide space for reflection and debate.

A society without art and culture lacks the capacity for self-positioning, self-criticism and self-development.

For this reason, it is a great misfortune when a society loses its art and cultural assets and - to put it more concretely - an enormous injustice when cultural assets are taken away by force. This gives rise to a trans-generational responsibility on the part of museums and collections.

Belgium

Brussels is not only the political center of Europe, but also a hub for international law, art and culture.

In the heart of Brussels and in the immediate vicinity of many renowned museums lies Rue aux Laines, a street steeped in history in the district between the Palace of Justice and the Mons des Art. The central location not only offers excellent connections to the European institutions, but also to the city's cultural and legal networks.

Brussels is not only the political center of Europe, but also a hub for international law, art and culture. There are renowned museums in the immediate vicinity.

Whether for consultations, negotiations or exchanges with clients, the firm is ideally located to operate effectively in Brussels and beyond.

Rue aux Laines
Brussels, 1000
Kingdom of Belgium

Belgium

Brussels is not only the political center of Europe, but also a hub for international law, art and culture.

In the heart of Brussels and in the immediate vicinity of many renowned museums lies Rue aux Laines, a street steeped in history in the district between the Palace of Justice and the Mons des Art. The central location not only offers excellent connections to the European institutions, but also to the city's cultural and legal networks.

Brussels is not only the political center of Europe, but also a hub for international law, art and culture. There are renowned museums in the immediate vicinity.

Whether for consultations, negotiations or exchanges with clients, the firm is ideally located to operate effectively in Brussels and beyond.

Rue aux Laines
Brussels, 1000
Kingdom of Belgium

Germany

My private law firm in Kassel is located in Treppenstraße, right in the heart of the documenta city. Kassel is above all a city of art and culture - world-famous for the documentaThe world's most important series of contemporary art exhibitions, one of the world's most important exhibitions of contemporary art.

Art and law are closely linked here: Kassel is home to the Neue Galerie and the important Old Masters" Picture Gallery in Wilhelmshöhe Palace, designed by Simon Louis du Ry.

The firm's location enables close networking with cultural players, institutions and clients who deal with issues relating to art law, copyright and cultural heritage.

In a city that is constantly redefining itself through documenta, the questions that shape the debate arise.

Stairway 5
34117 Kassel
Federal Republic of Germany

Germany

My private law firm in Kassel is located in Treppenstraße, right in the heart of the documenta city. Kassel is above all a city of art and culture - world-famous for the documentaThe world's most important series of contemporary art exhibitions, one of the world's most important exhibitions of contemporary art.

Art and law are closely linked here: Kassel is home to the Neue Galerie and the important Old Masters" Picture Gallery in Wilhelmshöhe Palace, designed by Simon Louis du Ry.

The firm's location enables close networking with cultural players, institutions and clients who deal with issues relating to art law, copyright and cultural heritage.

In a city that is constantly redefining itself through documenta, the questions that shape the debate arise.

Stairway 5
34117 Kassel
Federal Republic of Germany

Hourly rates for commercial mandates

Hourly rates are based on exclusively to commercial customers, institutions and companies, plus 3.75 % office fee, expenses and VAT (if applicable).

EU law and compliance

980 €

/ hour

  • Orientation in EU law
  • Development and support of compliance concepts
  • Establish in Europe or relocate
  • European company law
  • Legally compliant compliance
  • General Counsel (support for your legal department)
  • Support for creative projects (art exhibitions, motion pictures, filming)
Request availability

Law on museums and collections

980 €

/ hour

  • Provenance and questions of restitution of colonial art
  • 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict
  • UNESCO Convention on the Suppression of the Illicit Traffic in Cultural Property
  • UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects
  • Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art
  • Regulation (EC) No. 116/2009 on the export of cultural goods
  • Cultural Property Protection Act (KGSG, 2016)
Request availability

Industrial property rights

725 €

/ hour

  • Competition law and intellectual property law
  • Creating and defending industrial property rights (trademarks, designs, patents)
  • Assertion of and defense against competition law claims by or against competition associations and consumer protection bodies
  • Support for product launches
  • Merchandising
  • Therapeutic products advertising law
  • Food law
Request availability

Art and copyright law

725 €

/ hour

  • Creating and defending intellectual property rights for creatives
  • Questions of restitution of colonial art
  • A pro bono solution is conceivable for charitable institutions and those affected and their descendants.
  • Film production consulting (different daily rates)
  • Special conditions for young artists
  • Contract advice at fixed prices
Request availability

Solidary legal advice

pro bono

publico

  • Advice for NGOs, activists and private individuals in special situations
  • Support for socially relevant issues
  • Free initial consultation for special needs
  • Legal assistance in the public interest (pro bono publico)
  • Promotion of charitable and cultural projects
Request availability
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