Federal Act to Protect Cultural Property

The Act to Protect Cultural Property (KGSG) enables all items on loan to be included in the special legal protection that the collections of the Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek (German film library foundation) enjoy.

We would like to inform our lenders about the particular protection for items on loan to public cultural institutions in Germany provided for under the Act to Protect Cultural Property (KGSG), which came into force in 2016. 

If the collection of the cultural institution to which these items have been made available is protected as a national cultural asset under Section 6 (1) no. 2 or no. 3 KGSG and the lender gives his consent, section 6 (2) of the KGSG of 31 July 2016 enables items on loan to also be placed under protection as a national cultural asset for a limited time.

The Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek is one of the institutions which falls under Section 6 (1) no. 3 KGSG. For the term of the loan agreement and upon the respective lenders consent, the items on loan are considered a national cultural asset – just like our collection. In the event that an item on loan is unlawfully moved abroad, this means that the Federal Republic of Germany has the right to claim its return against an EU member state under Section 69 KGSG and against a third country under Section 70 KGSG. This right may be asserted irrespective of any claim by the owner for restitution under civil law. Under these regulations, the costs of the return procedure do not have to be borne by the owner. An export licence is required for the temporary export of an item on loan to other countries within the domestic market or to third countries. Finally, lenders who opt for this special protection benefit from the 75-year limitation period under Article 8 of Directive 2014/60/EU.

Consent may be revoked at any time and ends with the termination of the loan agreement without a separate declaration being necessary. We are happy to answer any questions on this new regulation from any lenders who have made items available on loan to the Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek.