Art Market Professional (AMP)

 According to the ARR Regulations, an art market professional is ‘any individual acting in the course of a business of dealing in works of art.’ Dealers, auction houses, galleries and agents fall within this definition whereas museums and private or corporate collections do not.

Artist’s Resale Right (ARR)

 ARR entitles artists and their beneficiaries to receive a royalty on a resale of an original work of art which reaches or exceeds the sterling equivalent of €1,000. ARR falls under the general umbrella of copyright law and applies only to works of art that are still in copyright.

Artists’ Collecting Society (ACS)

 ACS is a not-for-profit company dedicated to the administration of Artist’s Resale Right. We currently represent over 450 artists and their estates.

BAMF

 The British Art Market Federation was founded in 1996 to represent the leading organisations in the UK’s art and antiques market. Member organisations of BAMF include The Society of London Art Dealers (SLAD) and The Association of Art & Antiques Dealers (LAPADA).

Bought as Stock

 If the work of art was acquired directly from the artist and is resold within three years for a sum less than €10,000, the sale is ARR exempt. This exception is designed to encourage dealers to continue to buy young, unestablished artists’ work without having to worry about the additional fee.

Bridgeman Art Library

 A photographic archive specialising in images of art, history and culture, established in 1972 by Harriet Bridgeman. The archive holds approximately one million images from museums, institutions and other collections around the world, covering every aspect of art and including works by over 500 artists in copyright. ACS is affiliated with The Bridgeman Art Library but is a separate company.

Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR)

 BERR brings together different functions from the former Department for Trade and Industry (DTI), including responsibilities for enterprise, business relations, regional development, fair markets and energy policy.

Collecting Society

 According to the ARR Regulations, a Collecting Society is a society or other organisation which has as its main object, or one of its main objects, the administration of rights on behalf of more than one artist.

Community Interest Company (CIC)

 A type of company introduced by the UK Government in 2005 under the Community Interest Act 2004. CICs are designed for social enterprises that want to use their profits and assets for the public good. ACS is a registered CIC.

Copyright

 An intellectual property right which authors hold in respect of works they have created. Copyright confers an exclusive right to exploit an original work of art. It remains in force for the life of the author and for 70 years post mortem auctoris (after the author’s death).

Derogation

 In most European countries where Artist’s Resale Right is in place, it can be exercised by both living artists and their beneficiaries or other successors. The UK government secured an exemption – known as derogation – from the application of Artist’s Resale Right to the sales of works by deceased artists until 1st January 2012.

Droit de Suite

 The Frenchterm for Artist’s Resale Right meaning‘Right of Following.’ It is derived from the French law of mortgages and real property rights. Essentially, the right follows the work even if the work has changed hands.

EC Directive

 Directive 2001/84/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council was implemented on the 27th September 2001, primarily to harmonise the existing national laws on Artist’s Resale Right. Member States were given a degree of freedom over how best to implement the right.

Eligible Artists

 To be eligible for ARR, artists and their beneficiaries must be nationals of an EEA country, or one of the countries listed in schedule 2 of the Regulations.

Eligible Sales

 Any graphic or plastic art such as a picture, a collage, a painting, a drawing, an engraving, a print, a lithograph, a sculpture, a tapestry, a ceramic, a work in glass or a photograph. A copy of a work is not eligible unless it is one of a limited number which have been made by the author or under his authority. For prints, please consult Categories A-C of the British Standards Classification of Prints (BS7876).

European Economic Area (EEA)

 The 27 countries of the European Union plus Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland.

Intellectual Property Office (IPO)

 The official government body responsible for granting intellectual property (IP) rights in the United Kingdom. These rights include patents, designs, trade marks, and copyright.

Primary Sale

 If an artwork is bought or acquired directly from the creator it is considered to be a primary sale.

Public and Private Sales

 Sales between private individuals (versus public individuals such as registered dealers) are not subject to ARR. Neither are sales by private individuals to not-for-profit museums or other public arts organisations. Sales involving one art market professional (such as an auction house to a private individual) are subject to ARR.

Rate of Commission

 A percentage of the royalty due to the artist kept by collecting societies in order to cover the costs of administering ARR. The legislation does not specify the amount.

Right to Information

 Art Market Professionals are obliged to report all eligible sales to collecting societies, provided the request for information is made within three years of the sale. The art market professional must do everything in their power to respond to the request within 90 days.

Secondary Sale

 Any sale subsequent to the first transfer of ownership by the artist. First transfers of ownership can be by way of gift, sale or legacy.

Sliding Scale

 The ARR due per sale is based on a percentage of the sale price. The scale is set out in the ARR Regulations and the percentage decreases as the price increases. The sliding scale is capped and an artist can never earn more than €12,500 in ARR royalties per sale. To use our ARR calculator click here.
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