CISAC And Its Partners Welcome The European Adoption Of The Key Principles And Recommendations On The Management Of The Author Resale Right

CISAC, the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers, and its partners, EVA (European Visual Artists), GESAC (European Grouping of Societies of Authors and Composers), European authors’ societies for visual arts, and European artist organisations (European Council of Artists) announced the adoption by the European Commission of an agreement on the Author Resale Right, aimed at ensuring an equitable share for visual artists from the resale of their works.

This agreement was formalized in a “Key Principles and Recommendations on the management of the Author Resale Right” document, officially signed and unveiled at a ceremony in Brussels organised by Michel Barnier, European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services.

These principles result from a fruitful multipartite dialogue on the Artist’s Resale Right in the EU. These discussions were conducted for more than one year by representatives of collective management societies and visual artists together with representatives of the visual art market: auction houses, art dealers and galleries. Launched at the beginning of 2013, these discussions aimed at identifying practical solutions to improve the functioning of the right and cooperation in its application across the EU.

“I am truly delighted to preside over the signing ceremony of the ‘Key Principles and Recommendations on the management of the Author Resale Right’ document that all parties here have patiently and carefully worked out over this past year,” said Mr Barnier.

“Today, we are closing the dialogue on the resale right that was initiated back in February 2013. The agreement that the participants to the tripartite dialogue on resale right have reached is all the more remarkable in that the original mandate only committed the parties to an obligation of means: to get together in order to better understand one another. All participants have set aside their differences to ensure that a shared conviction prevail, namely the necessity to continue to improve the collective management of rights in order to further encourage the creation of original art works.

If we want to maintain a creative and dynamic art market in Europe, we must raise the question of the social and economic status that our society grants to its creators. It is this strong commitment in favour of the creators of original works of art that has animated artists, gallery owners, auction houses and representatives of collective management societies throughout this exercise. I want to thank them whole heartedly.”

“The resale right is a fundamental right for visual artists, whose remuneration primarily comes from the material sale of their works,” said Olivier Hinnewinkel, CISAC Director General. “It allows them to earn an equitable share from the resale of their works on the art market, when these works are resold by galleries or auction houses. The adoption of the ‘Key Principles and Recommendations on the management of the Author Resale Right’ is a significant achievement and an important step in the history of the right in the EU.”

First enacted in France in 1920, the artist’s resale right, also referred to as droit de suite, is recognised under international copyright law and exists in over 70 countries around the world, including all EU countries.