A legal expert specializing in intellectual property and technology related matters recently expressed his views on legal aspects regarding art.

Rodney Ryder in an interview with Kishore Singh of The Business Standard opined that artists does have ‘a right to re-sale royalty’.  Asked why the artists haven’t demanded this right, he stated: No case has come up so far since artists really don’t know about it. Of course, it (right to re-sale royalty) is controversial even in Europe. It will be the same in India should cases start coming up since the whole field is new.

When Europe passed the law regarding re-sale law, senior artist Tyeb Mehta had reportedly hoped for the similar right, but they are there, albeit not tried and tested owing to the secrecy surrounding re-sales in the art market.

Section 53A of the Copyright Act refers to works within the copyright period (the artist’s life plus 60 years) making sure of a percentage to be paid to the former so long as the price exceeds Rs 10,000. In percentage terms, the law states it’s up to 10 per cent. In case of any dispute arising, the Copyright Board is to decide on the figure. However, there has been no case to date.

Of course, it is not easy for an artist to monitor re-sales. In UK, there is a collecting agency that takes up the task, checking auction sales, re-sales etc. While the copyright (provision) applies in Europe, and in parts in India, it does not apply in the US that could turn into a safe haven for the re-sale of art, Mr Ryder added.