In 2015 the Museum of Contemporary Art of Australia, the Tate Modern, London and the Qantas Foundation embarked on an innovative program entitled the International Joint Acquisition Program for Contemporary Australian Art. Through this program 36 works of contemporary indigenous Australian artists have been jointly acquired. Many have already been exhibited in London, introducing an international audience to the works. The works are now part of the permanent collections of the two museums under a sharing scheme. Variations of this arrangement are being implemented elsewhere, allowing cash-strapped museums to diversify their holdings and exposing audiences to previously unknown works and art movements.

Other examples include the joint ownership by the Getty Institute and the Smithsonian of the photo archives of Ebony and Jet magazines, which contain iconic images of the civil rights movement and of Black celebrities. The archives, which contain nearly a million photographs as well as contact sheets and audio and visual recordings, will be studied and digitized by the Getty Institute and the National Museum of African American History.

After many years of negotiations, on March 31, 2023, the National Portrait Gallery of London and the Getty Museum in Los Angeles announced the completion of a venture funding the joint acquisition of a larger-than-lifesize portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds for $50 million euros. Entitled “Portrait of Mai,” the painting depicts the first Polynesian to visit Britain. Mai traveled to Britain with Captain Cook in 1773 and died there six years later.

The Association of Registrars and Collections Specialists has published a model co-ownership agreement, covering such issues as exhibition, merchandising, copyright and signage.