Resale right postponed

The artist resale right will continue to apply only to the work of living artists in the UK until January 2012, despite a campaign for full implementation in 2010. The Government has applied to the EU to extend its derogation of the resale right for the works of deceased artists for a further two years (AP169). John Denham, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, said that extending the right to deceased artists’ work “would place a considerable burden on the art trade”. Joanna Cave, Chief Executive of the Design and Artists Copyright Society, which is leading the campaign, said she was “devastated for all the artists and their families who believed the Government’s empty words… This irrational decision is a betrayal of the artist community and a rejection of the mountain of evidence.”