Brussels, 27/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - Community law does not require the member states specifically to designate the person who should bear the cost of the resale right. The person liable for the royalty may be either the seller or the buyer of a work of art, ruled the Court of Justice of the EU on Thursday 26 February in case C-41/14.
Directive 2001/84/EC defines the resale right as the right of the author of an original work of art to receive a royalty based on the resale price obtained for any resale of the work subsequent to the first transfer. In a case involving the French branch of the multinational firm Christie's and the national union of antiquaries in France (SNA), the French Court of Cassation asked the Court of Justice of the EU whether it is always for the seller definitively to bear the cost of the resale royalty or whether it is possible to depart from that rule by agreement.
The Court ruled that, ultimately, the member states alone may determine the person liable for the royalty. In principle this should be the seller but a derogation to specify another person is possible. The person designated liable may agree with, for example, the buyer that this latter will definitively bear, in whole or in part, the cost of the royalty. (Jan Kordys)