Copyright: Representatives of the European art market commit to improving how the author resale right is managed

On 17 February representatives of collecting management organisations, authors and art market professionals (art dealers, galleries, auctioneers) will sign up to “Key Principles and Recommendations on the management of the Author Resale Right” (see PDF attached), under the auspices of EU Commissioner for Internal Market and Services, Michel Barnier. This document is the result of a European Commission-led dialogue with stakeholders to improve the administration of the author resale right. Under these key principles, concrete aspects of how the resale right operates in the European single market will be improved, and notably the transparency of the collection and distribution of resale right and the information of artists and dealers on the existence and functioning of this right. The resale right is an artist’s right to receive a royalty based on the resale price of an original work subsequent to the first transfer of the work by the artist, when the resale involves a professional dealer. The resale right is intended to ensure that creators of original works of art (graphic and plastic works, sculpture, paintings, etc.) share in the economic success of their works. Its application was partially harmonised by the Resale Right Directive ( Directive 2001/84/EC) which has been fully implemented in all Member States. In a Reportof December 2011 the Commission proposed to establish a stakeholder dialogue, tasked with making recommendations to improve the system of resale right collection and distribution in the EU. Furthermore, in its Resolution of 20 November 2012 , the European Parliament called on the Commission to work closely with the stakeholders.