The Artist’s Resale Right, also known as Droit de Suite, has been implemented in more than 80 countries. In spite of its adoption by several contracting parties of the Berne Convention, Article 14ter (1) of the Convention does not oblige countries that are part of the Berne Union to implement the artist resale right in their national legal framework. In the case whereby a Member State opts to recognize the resale right in its national legislation, it is also free to apply the rule of reciprocity with respect to nationals from other countries that grant different levels of protection or that do not recognize the resale right in their domestic legislation.
The discussion on the Artist’s Resale Right was proposed in 2015 by Senegal and Congo during the 31st session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) and has since been under the agenda item “Other Matters.” Discussions about the Resale Right in the SCCR include the economic effects of such a right, the management of this right at the national and international level and the benefits deriving from the recognition of this right.