Resale right

Each time a work is resold through a professional — auction house, gallery, dealer — the artist receives a percentage of the resale price. Direct sales between private individuals are generally excluded, as are the artist's first sales and resales below a threshold price.

The right applies to original works of fine and graphic art: paintings, sculptures, prints, photographs, tapestries, ceramics. Numbered copies of limited editions are treated in the same way.

The scale is generally degressive: a decreasing percentage per price bracket, with a ceiling. By way of indication, 4% on the bracket up to €50,000, 3% up to €200,000, 1% up to €500,000, 0.5% beyond, and a ceiling of €12,500 per sale.

The royalty is owed by the seller but, depending on the State, borne by the buyer or shared. It is collected by the professional involved, who passes it on to the management society, which distributes it to artists or rights holders. Management fees are deducted.

The resale right is the subject of recurring debate. Its supporters stress fairness to artists, many of whom live modestly. Its opponents fear it moves sales to States that do not apply it. The Observatory's studies have not confirmed this shift: where sales take place depends mainly on taxation, buyers and the services available.

OIMAP takes no position on extending the resale right but encourages the harmonisation of scales and thresholds among the States that apply it, to simplify operators' task.