Artist Resale Rights, known internationally as Droit de suite, represent the inalienable right of authors of fine art works (and their heirs) to receive a percentage of the sale price on every subsequent public resale of their work. In Georgia, this right is particularly important for painters, sculptors, and photographers whose works significantly appreciate in value over time. Often, an artist sells a work early in their career for a low price, and years later, that same work is sold at auction for hundreds of thousands of Lari. The resale right ensures that the artist receives a fair share of this increased value. This right applies only when a professional intermediary—an art salon, gallery, or auction house—is involved in the resale.
Legal services available through our platform cover the full cycle of enforcing Droit de suite rights. Specialists will assist you with the following matters:
- Monitoring resales: Researching transactions at auctions and galleries where your or your ancestor's work was sold.
- Royalty calculation: Precisely calculating the percentage rates set by law (which decrease as the price increases) based on the specific sale price of the artwork.
- Negotiating with intermediaries: Communicating with auction houses and galleries to ensure they fulfill their legal obligations and pay the due amount.
- Representation in collective management organizations: Liaising with copyright associations that often collect these types of royalties.
- Litigation: Filing a lawsuit if the seller or intermediary refuses to provide information or pay the fee.
In practice, it is common for artists or their heirs to be unaware that their work has been sold at a high-end auction. For example, a canvas by a famous Georgian painter might be sold from a private collection through a gallery for 50,000 GEL. According to the law, the author is entitled to a certain percentage of this amount (usually 4-5%). However, galleries often "forget" to inform the author or evade payment. Another common scenario is when an auction house refuses to disclose the actual sale price to reduce the royalty payable. In such cases, the involvement of a qualified lawyer is essential to ensure transparency.
In Georgia, this area is regulated by the Law of Georgia on Copyright and Related Rights. Specifically, this law defines the author's right to receive a royalty upon the public resale of an original work of fine art. The law sets a minimum sale price from which this right takes effect, as well as the percentage rates. Also important is the Civil Code of Georgia, which regulates the inheritance of property rights, as Droit de suite applies for 70 years after the author's death.
The process begins with fact-finding. The lawyer requests information from the auction house or gallery regarding the fact and price of the sale. The law obliges the intermediary to provide this information. Following this, a formal demand is sent. If voluntary payment is not made, the dispute moves to court, where damages for the delay can also be claimed. Specialists listed on Legal.ge will help ensure that your creative labor or inheritance is properly valued.
Legal.ge is the premier platform in Georgia gathering lawyers with narrow specialization in intellectual property law. Protecting resale rights requires not only knowledge of the law but also an understanding of the art market specifics. Trust our platform to reclaim what legally belongs to you.
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