Intellectual property

Two kinds of ownership coexist in a work: that of the object, which passes from buyer to buyer, and that of the intellectual property rights, which remain with the artist or their rights holders, unless assigned. Buying a painting does not give the right to make posters of it or to display it online without permission.

This distinction is fundamental for the market. It explains the importance of assignment contracts, reproduction licences and collective management societies.

The term of copyright protection is generally seventy years after the artist's death, but varies from State to State. On expiry, the work falls into the public domain: anyone may reproduce it, subject to respect for the moral right.

The resale right, for its part, is a right to remuneration on professional resales. It exists in thirty-four Member States and generally follows the term of copyright.

Intellectual property seeks a balance between rewarding creators and the circulation of culture. Exceptions to copyright — quotation, teaching, preservation, news reporting — are the expression of this. They allow museums, universities and the press to work without seeking permission each time.

These exceptions have precise limits, which vary from State to State. OIMAP recommends that operators know them, to avoid both excessive refusals and wrongful reproductions.