Resale Right Should Be Added To WIPO Copyright Committee, Authors Say

Resale right, which refers to royalties that visual artists can claim on the resale of their work by art dealers, should be discussed at the World Intellectual Property Organization, according to an international association of authors. An international harmonised framework does not currently exist.

The International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC – Confédération Internationale des Sociétés d’Auteurs et de Compositeurs) organised an event on the side of the annual WIPO General Assembly to support countries, who have expressed the wish that the issue of resale right be put on the agenda of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights.

The WIPO General Assembly is taking place from 5-14 October. The work program for the copyright committee is among the agenda items.

Resale right for visual artists is a matter of fairness, CISAC Director General Gadi Oron said during the side event held on 9 October. The resale right is a modest percentage of the price paid for an artist’s work when it is sold again by a gallery or an auction house, he said.

International law on resale right is not yet harmonised, and even though resale right exists in 81 countries, some large players in the art market do not have such a right, such as the United States, China, Switzerland, and Japan, he said.

Resale right was introduced in 1920 in France for the first time, he said, and the European Union adopted a directive in 2001.

World-renowned Senegalese sculptor and CISAC Vice-President Ousmane Sow, who celebrated his 80th birthday at the side event, said some art professionals still follow the old-fashioned view that “in order to create the artist must starve.”

The resale right helps create a long-term link between the artists and their work, he said, adding that it is not only a matter of money, but also a matter of recognition of the artist. “It is the only means to pay us respect,” he said and the assurance that the work has not totally escaped the artist.

According to Marie-Anne Ferry-Fall, director general of the French Société des auteurs dans les Arts Graphiques et Plastiques (Adagp – Society of graphic and plastic arts), the need for resale right in France gained awareness at the beginning of the 20th century, when the now famous painting “The Angelus” by Jean-François Millet was resold for an astounding price while his window and children lived in poverty.

Visual artists include photographers, designers, street art artists, architects, sculptors, painted glass artists, and comic strip artists, she said.

Article 14ter of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works has a provision for resale right, however, this right is not compulsory, she said.

The four main art markets are the United States, China, United Kingdom and France, she said. A Chinese artist whose work is resold in Europe could not currently benefit from the resale right, because in her country this right is not recognised, she said.

In Europe, said Ferry-Fall, the royalty for resale right is based on the sale price and not on the profit, and no resale right can be requested between individuals. The resale right only applies to professional art dealers, she added.

Javier Gutierrez Vicén, director general of the Spanish Visual Entidad de gestion de Artistas Platicos (VEGAP), said visual artists suffer from negative discrimination. Resale right refers to human dignity, he said, and very few artists are wealthy.

He listed a number of Latin American countries which recognise resale right, such as Brazil, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. However, he said, recognising the right does not always mean it is applied. One of the reasons is that some countries do not have collective societies to collect royalties.

 

Image Credits: Catherine Saez