Droit de Suite, or Artists Resale Right, came into force in the UK in 2006.

It has been law in France since in the 1920s to assist the widows of artists killed in the 1914-18 War. It supplemented a special tax on the overall turnover of art dealers that has been used for a special arts social welfare fund.

Droit de Suite provisions were subsequently incorporated into the copyright legislation of most nations in what is now the European Union and reflected in the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary & Artistic Works.

More information is at www.caslon.com.au/droitprofile.htm

Droit de Suite gives artists the right to claim a portion of the price paid for their work on the secondary market. This means that each time their work is sold, regardless of who sells it and to whom, they will get a percentage of the sales money. This is similar to the right currently enjoyed by musicians in the UK, who can claim money on all future sales of their music even after it has been released.

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