CISAC Continues Advocating for the Resale Right at WIPO

Summary
Visual Artists' Resale Right Campaign Remains a Top Priority for CISAC at WIPO's SCCR
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Following the decision back in July to officially add the Visual Artists' Resale Right (ARR) to the agenda of the World Intellectual Property Organization's Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) for discussion at future sessions, CISAC was back at WIPO last week to further advance the Visual Artists' Resale Right campaign with a view to extend this important right to all regions of the world.

On the last day of the SCCR's 31st session, CISAC took the floor to make a statement, supported by Senegal and Congo, in favour of the inclusion of the visual artist’s resale right as an agenda item for future sessions of the committee.

This proposal was formally submitted by delegates of Senegal and Congo, who reminded the audience of the desirability, for the SCCR’s future working plan, of devoting time to this important topic that needs to be addressed at an international level.

CISAC’s address focused on the vital importance of the resale right for the fragile community of visual artists worldwide. It highlighted that, for many visual artists, the resale right remuneration is a vital part of their income.  It also pointed out that the resale right is not just about royalties but is first and foremost a question of respect and fairness for all of them. It is the only instrument that enables visual artists to maintain a connection with the unique artworks that they create, thereby fostering a more transparent art market where visual artists would know who owns their works and where their works are. 

CISAC underscored the important progress to be made in order to achieve an effective harmonization of the resale right and secure its availability around the world. It invited the committee to seize the opportunity to discuss the issue, identify problems, and determine solutions that need to be found at an international level for the sake of the visual artists’ community.

The proposal was well received by a number of African countries (Ivory Coast, DR Congo, Algeria), the EU and some Latin American countries (Colombia and Brazil). The US, Canada, and Japan did not openly opposed it but they called for WIPO to conduct a study on the issue.

As a result of the discussions, the SCCR agreed to keep the topic open for discussion at their next plenary session.