The Artist's Right To Resale – Recent Developments

An artist's resale right enables artists and their heirs to retain a share in their work as it increases in commercial value. It is provided and protected by law for the benefit of the author of an original work of art. The Cyprus Parliament has recently voted for an amendment in the Cyprus Law on Copyright and Related Rights of 1976 (59/1976) which is expected to further support the art world.

The resale right offers an economic interest in successive sales of the creator's work. It forms an integral part of copyright which enables the author or the artist to receive consideration for successive transfers of his/her work. The subject matter of the resale right is the physical work, namely the medium in which the protected work is incorporated. The main aim is to ensure that authors of graphic and plastic works of art share the economic success of their works.