Alternatives to the “Legitimate Ownership” of Art Heritage

This article argues that inter-state disputes regarding the ownership of art heritage are not of prime importance from a societal perspective. Seeking to establish “legitimate ownership” absorbs much time and effort but is not always successful because it involves many political aspects beyond the purely legal realm. Even in situations where “legitimate ownership” is indeed identifiable, the relevant authorities still have to devote a considerable amount of time and money. The input of resources required should be compared to the many more pressing issues in international law, in particular issues relating to civil rights and military conflict. Trying to establish “legitimate ownership” in art heritage is, in many cases, superfluous because there are viable alternatives. The most important one relies on the production of perfect replicas of the piece of heritage whose ownership is disputed. This possibility now exists thanks to the considerable technical progress in copying achieved with the help of computing. Moreover, the Internet democratizes and globalizes national art heritage, moving it closer to being a cultural heritage of mankind. Instead of focusing on the determination of “legitimate ownership”, the alternatives mentioned above should be actively pursued. Producing exact replicas of art heritage and putting three-dimensional representations on the Internet should be actively supported rather than hindered by narrowly defined legal rules. At the same time, international loans of what is still considered “national” heritage should be encouraged.