New law confirms that the Artist’s Resale Right will continue to benefit artists post-Brexit

    The UK government has released a new draft law that ensures the existing Artist's Resale Right (ARR) legislation will be fit for purpose when the UK leaves the EU. The law, which will come into force next year, will give certainty to UK artists who are entitled to ARR in the UK and abroad.
     

    What will change?

    The new draft law alters the language in the original ARR legislation to reflect that the UK will no longer be an ‘EEA state’ – i.e. a member of the European Economic Area.
     
    The change will make it clear that ARR is applicable in the UK so that artists can continue to benefit from this crucial right. The law also confirms that artists can receive royalties from other countries that also have an ARR law. 
     

    DACS’ global network

    We are proud to belong to an international network of sister societies, which are organisations just like DACS in other countries. We’re actively engaged with our network and we will continue to collect ARR royalties from sister societies in the EEA and distribute these to British artists.
     
    If you’re an artist who receives ARR, being a member of DACS allows you to benefit from our international network.
     

    Join as an artist 
    Join as a beneficiary or heir 
     

    What about non-UK nationals?

    The ARR regulations also fall in line with the international convention that protects the rights of artists – the Berne convention. The Berne convention says that if an artist is from a country that has an ARR law, the artist or their heir can benefit from ARR in any country that also has that law. The UK government confirmed that our ARR law complies with the Berne convention.
     

    An international resale right

    We join the campaign for an international resale right as we think it is vital that all artists, regardless of their nationality can enjoy ARR, and to level the playing field across all art markets. ARR is emerging in countries such as South Africa, the USA and South Korea where we have strong relationships with our counterparts in these countries. The future of ARR is bright and the UK is a part of it.


    Why Artist’s Resale Right matters

    Find out more about Artists's Resale Right:

    For artists 
    For beneficiaries and heirs

     
    Watch the films in our Artist's Resale Right series:

    Beverley Heath-Hoyland, The Estate of John Hoyland 
    Gordon Cheung, artist 
    Cortina Butler, The Estate of Reg Butler


    #ArtistFutures

    Image: Blue Hour, 2017 © Shirazeh Houshiary. All rights reserved, DACS/Artimage 2018. Photo: Dave Morgan.

    Posted on 23/11/2018 by Laura Ward-Ure