The Resale Right takes centre stage at CIAGP conference in Buenos Aires

A key Argentinean State Senator joined CISAC members to rally support for the Visual Artists' Resale Right in Latin America, during a successful two-day conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The International Council of Authors of the Graphic and Plastic Arts and of Photographers (CIAGP) conference attracted distinguished guests and officials from across Latin America who met to discuss key issues affecting visual creators in the region, including the Visual Artists' Resale Right.  The Visual Artists' Resale Right grants every living artist or their descendants a small share of the price when one of their works is resold by an auction house, a gallery or an art dealer.

The meeting, hosted by CISAC, was opened by Argentinian State Senator of the Córdoba Province Norma Morandini, who welcomed participants and expressed her commitment to the Resale Right bill, currently being pushed through the Argentinean Senate.

"Artists should take their rights or rights may come to nothing," Mrs Morandini said.

French painter and CIAGP Chair Hervé di Rosa followed with his address, highlighting the benefits of the Visual Artists' Resale Right for visual arts creators in the countries where the right exists, such as in the United Kingdom and in France. Hervé di Rosa said that significant momentum is building to make the Resale Right a universal right across the world.

CISAC, together with GESAC, European Visual Artists (EVA) and visual arts authors’ societies recently launched a petition to make the resale right universally adopted. The petition has proved highly successful, attracting more than 15,000 signatures to date.

SAVA President Marcelo Pelissier and Dr Werner Stauffacher of ProLitteris also delivered an opening address.

The meeting continued with CISAC Regional Director for Latin America and Caribbean Santiago Schuster, who gave an overview on the situation of the visual arts copyright in the region.

A following roundtable discussion, moderated by Dr Stauffacher, aimed to explore how protected works could be made accessible to social media users while respecting author’s rights.

Roundtable speakers included: Marie-Anne Ferry-Fall (ADAGP, President of EVA), Janet Hicks (ARS), Anke Schierholz (VG Bild-Kunst), Fabiana Nascimento (AUTVIS), Luciano Marchione (SAVA). Day Two of the meeting opened with all regional updates, with additional progress reports on the resale right in Europe, North America, the United States, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

EVA President Marie-Anne Ferry-Fall next spoke about recent advancements in various lobbying initiatives in Europe, including the WIPO campaign and the Working Group Resale Right.

Authors Society of Graphic Arts and Plastics (ADAGP) General Secretary Jerome Dechesne presented the Fingerprinting Project, which involves the technology of fingerprinting is to create a digital print of an image. This print will be able to be digitally recognised and compared to other images, published or electronic, to determine a match.