Resale Right Campaign Moves Forward at WIPO’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR)

On Friday 13 May, the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) addressed the topic of the resale right in its 32nd plenary session. Following extensive advocacy and lobbying efforts by CISAC, European Visual Artists (EVA) and CIAGP (visual arts creators’ council) and at the initiative of Senegal, many member states recommended to circulate the academic study encouraging the universal adoption of the visual artist’s resale right. Commissioned by CISAC, the study was prepared by Melbourne University Professor of Law Sam Ricketson. Professor Ricketson will likely be invited to present the study at an upcoming plenary session of the SCCR. The topic was mentioned in the Chairman’s summary of the 32nd SCCR session.

Adopted by over 80 countries to date, CISAC, alongside GESAC and EVA, is running a major advocacy campaign to commence discussions at an international level on the universal adoption of the resale right. The right ensures that visual artists receive a small percentage of the resale price of their works when these works are resold by an auction house or an art gallery.

The discussion at the SCCR came after Senegal took the floor to introduce the topic of the resale right, included in the Agenda of the plenary. CIAGP Representative, ADAGP Director General and EVA President Marie-Anne Ferry-Fall (pictured below) provided insight on the resale right, explaining to WIPO delegates why this right is vital for visual artists.

Leonardo de Terlizzi (Legal Advisor) spoke next, on behalf of CISAC. Addressing the SCCR, he stated:

While the resale right represents only insignificant sums to the sellers and to the auction houses, for many visual artists, this remuneration if a vital part of their income. And for all of them, the resale right is much more than that. The resale right is the only legal instrument that allows visual artists to maintain a connection with the unique artworks that they create. It forces the art market to be more transparent, and therefore helps visual artists to know where their works are, and who owns them.”

Download CISAC’s complete statement here.

The Resale Right study is available for download here.

For more background on the campaign, the visual artist’s resale right brochure is available in English, French, Spanish and Chinese.