The resale right petition is an initiative taken by EVA – European Visual Artists, the European umbrella of visual arts copyrights organizations CISAC and GESAC, in order to protect the fundamental right of authors of graphic and plastic arts for a small percentage of the resale price that art market professionals pay to them at each resale of their works be it in auction or in a gallery.
In short, this right was born in France in 1920, harmonized in Europe by the Directive of 27 September 2001 and provided internationally by Article 14ter of the Berne Convention at the Brussels (BRU) International Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), but non-binding, the right is now recognized by 65 states (members of the European Union of course, but also Australia, Brazil, Russia, Mexico, Tunisia, Senegal, …).
According to the initiators of the resale right petition, in a global world the protection of artists should be the same in different places of the art market, be it London, Paris, New York or Hong Kong. Thus, the authors of fine arts from the five continents – and not just those of Western countries – must be able to benefit from the wealth generated by the sales of their creations. And the first ones being concerned are the artists from emerging countries whose works are purchased at low prices and then resold with significant gains on the art markets of Western countries.
To achieve this equality between the authors around the world they believe that the resale right must become, under the auspices of WIPO, a global right. Please follow the link to learn more and sign the online resale right petition: http://www.resale-right.org/
