CISAC Co-Hosts Symposium on the Visual Artists’ Resale Right at Waseda University, Tokyo

On 5 March, CISAC and the Research Centre for the Legal System of Intellectual Property (RCLIP) of Waseda University co-hosted a symposium on the visual artists' resale right.  Titled “The Potential for Introducing the Resale Right”, the symposium marked a major step in CISAC’s international campaign to advocate for the adoption of the resale right universally, and particularly in Japan, where the right is currently inexistent. 

The symposium opened with presentations by legal experts from France and the UK on the operation of the resale right in these countries. CISAC Director General Gadi Oron followed with an overview of collective management of rights in visual arts and the latest developments in the campaign by CISAC, GESAC and EVA for global implementation of the right. Dr. Akiko Ogawa, Adjunct Researcher at Waseda University RCLIP and a Director of JASPAR, explored the potential for implementation of the right in Japan.

The keynote speeches were followed by a roundtable discussion which included renowned visual artist Kazuhiko Fukuoji (Japan Art Academy member and JASPAR Board Member), photographer Katsumi Nagashima (Photographic Society of Japan member), JASPAR Director Akihiro Yoshizawa and Japan Professional Photographers Association Copyright Committee Chairman Yasuro Horikiri. Panel participants urged the introduction of the visual artist’s resale right in Japan. CISAC Director for Asia-Pacific Benjamin Ng updated on the latest developments in China where the resale right has been introduced in a draft copyright bill and is being discussed.