Aaron M. Milrad J.D., B.A., Counsel

Aaron provides strategic planning, marketing and legal services to clients across Canada, the U.S. and internationally; to creators, organizations, collectors, professionals and participants in the arts and media. Much of his work focuses on Canadian and international copyright, contracts and licenses, libel, the visual and performing arts, music, publishing and the new media, the architecture and design fields, estate and donation planning for creators and collectors.

He assists companies in the new and the virtual industries in identifying, valuing, insuring and protecting copyrighted materials. He provides legal and business advice in sales, purchases or financings.

Aaron’s clients also consist of auction houses, non-profit corporations, foundations, creators, galleries, museums, collectors, donors, artists, designers, illustrators, architects, film makers and photographers, authors, publishers, producers, records and music companies, music retailers, music schools, performers, literary and music agents, multimedia creators, charities, estates and professional associations.

He works with individuals, corporations and estates in relation to their collectibles and archives, such as art, antiques and valuable chattels. He helps select professionals for authentication, appraisal, valuation recordation, storage and insurance of the works and assists with donation of the works to archives, museums and institutions to obtain the best tax and other advantages, such as the special tax benefits provided under Canada’s cultural property laws.

Aaron also advises on import and export laws in relation to export of such valuables, notably the restrictions on exporting to beneficiaries living outside Canada or offering for purchase and sale outside Canada.

He assists in the creation of family foundations, museums and tax plans for donors, as well as documentation and searches for purchase and sale of art collections and collectibles. Aaron also deals with insurance coverages and claims for art and collectible damage and theft claims.

Aaron is an author and lecturer on the arts, intellectual and cultural property. He is a collector of post Second World War paintings, works on paper, ceramics and photography. He sits on a number of not-for-profit arts boards in the United States, Canada and abroad.

Sort Content By:
Aaron’s clients, both Canadian and international, consist of service businesses, non-profit corporations, foundations, creators, professionals, galleries, museums, collectors, donors, artists, designers, architects, photographers, authors, publishers, producers, literary and music agents, multimedia creators, charities, estates and professional associations.
Representative Work
Represented a Canadian winery in the marketing of the persona and image of a Canadian sports personality for the production of branded wines under his name
Representing the collectors, museums and galleries (McMichael Gallery, Oakville Galleries, The Banff centre, Art Gallery of Ontario, the George R. Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, Canadian Mining Hall of Fame) regarding import and export issues, donation programs and tax advice, copyright licence and permissions, moral rights concerns, employment contracts and issues, estate planning and the Founding and Creation of the Gardiner Museum by the Act of the Ontario Government
Representing leading Canadian and international artists, photographers and cartoonists such as Freeman Patterson, Joseph Drapell, Paul Fournier, Harold Feist, Beth Powning, Andre Gallant, Peter Powning, Ken Danby (Estate), Norval Morrisseau (Estate), Andy Donato, Larry Fink, Alex Colville, David Levinthal, Robert Bourdeau, Edwina Sandys
Representing interior design and architecture firms on construction, design and mural contracts in Canada and internationally, contracts with sub-contractors on industrial and commercial projects including trade mark and licensing agreements of designs and new industrial creations
Representing Canadian and international publishers and authors such as Firefly Publishers, Robert Rose, Madison Press, CCH Canadian Limited, Big Fat Pen Publishing Inc., Doug Gibson Books, Harper Collins, McClelland & Stewart Inc., Raincoast Books, J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter), Barbara Coloroso, Freeman Patterson, Beth Powning, Lloyd Axworthy, Jane Jacobs (Estate), Mark Tewksbury, Jeff Rubin, Laura Calder (books and television programme) in respect to publishing contracts, licensing agreements, estate planning and other media agreements
Publications
Teaching Roles
Writer and lecturer in all aspects of copyright, art, photography, design, music, publishing and media law at business and legal seminars in Canada and the United States
Prior Speaking Engagements
Keynote Speaker, "Collecting from the Collector's Perspective", Visual Arts & The Law Conference, Santa Fe, August 2008
Keynote Speaker, “The Role of the Art Collector”, CLE Art Law Conference, Santa Fe 2008
Presented, “Collecting Art, Issues and Concerns”, Royal Ontario Museum, 2008
Presented, “Art Law in Canada”, CLE Art Law Conference, Santa Fe 2007
Presented, “Copyright Considerations in Canada – Intellectual Property Law”, Erie Institute of Law, CLE Conference in Buffalo NY, September 2007
Contact Information
Toronto
+1 416 863 4529
aaron.milrad@fmc-law.com
Year of Call
1962 (Ontario)
Education
University of Toronto Law School, J.D., 1960
University of Toronto, B.A. (Political Science and Sociology), 1957
Languages Spoken
English