More on Artists Resale Rights

The other day I posted on artist resale rights in England and how the policy effects many dealers and adds unwanted complexity and costs with the reporting of artist resales.  The Antiques Trade Gazette is now reporting that a European Union study on the impact of artist resale rights on dealers has just been released, and the results are basically inconclusive.  The study reports that European art sales have been declining, yet they can not link the declines to the Artist Rights requirements. They have not been able to link declining sales in countries with an increase in sales in countries without the requirements either.  The current plan is to have another study, now scheduled for 2014.

This is rather interesting and can have an impact on where in Europe a seller may wish to sell.  There is also talk of expanding artist rights laws in the US, so tracking what happens in Europe could be a preliminary gauge of what might happen in the U.S.

The ATG reports

The EC also expresses concern at the administrative and costs burden on smaller dealers of fulfilling their obligations under ARR. It criticises some of the collecting societies involved and says it will establish a system of best practice to minimise costs and red tape for end users in the trade.

The concluding section of EC's report, also states:

• There are clearly pressures on European art markets, in all price ranges, and for both the auction and dealer sectors, and it is recalled that the scope of the application of the resale right will be significantly expanded following the ending of the derogation for the works of deceased artists on 1 January 2012.

• At the same time, the quality of the administration of the resale right appears to vary considerably across the EU, bringing costs to art market professionals and artists alike. The burden can be particularly high for those at the lower end of the market who are proportionately more deeply affected by the costs of administering the right.

• The Commission recognises, furthermore, that in some Member States inefficient administration of the resale right presents a not insignificant burden on art market professionals and may also lead to unnecessarily high deductions from the royalties due to artists and their successors.

• In light of the economic significance of the sector, the Commission considers that market developments should be kept under review. The Commission will undertake a further reporting exercise and deliver its results in 2014.

• The Commission will also pursue its commitment to persuading other countries to implement the resale right.

• In light of the volume of transactions subject to the resale right, the European Commission also considers that there would be benefit in the exchange of best practice at European level with a view to managing and minimising the administrative costs in all Member States. To this end it intends to establish a Stakeholder Dialogue, tasked with making recommendations for the improvement of the system of resale right collection and distribution in the EU.

• More broadly, the European Commission is concerned that collecting societies should operate to a high standard of governance and transparency with regard to their members and to commercial users, and will bring forward a proposal in this regard during 2012 to apply in equal measure to collecting societies administering the resale right.

Source: Antiques Trade Gazette, to read the full article, click HERE.