The artist’s resale right (in French droit de suite, loosely the right to follow the work) is the statutory entitlement of the author of an original work of visual art to a small percentage of the price each time it is sold on. The artist thus shares in a work's success long after first selling it. In the past they received next to nothing from resales, even though records are born precisely on the secondary market. In the European Union it was harmonised by a directive of 2001; in the Czech Republic it is governed by Section 24 of the Copyright Act.
The royalty arises when an original sells for 1,500 euros or more (excluding VAT) and a gallery, an auctioneer or another art dealer takes part in the sale. The rate falls in bands: 4 per cent on the portion of the price up to 50,000 euros, then 3, 1, 0.5 and 0.25 per cent, but never more than 12,500 euros in total. The seller and the dealer pay it jointly, and it goes to the collective management organisation, GESTOR (the Authors' Protection Association). GESTOR passes the money on to artists and, after their death, to their heirs for a further seventy years.
Because the royalty is one of the costs of a resale, and anyone selling through an auction or a gallery should allow for it. The cap keeps the sum modest even for records. Kupka's Conception, Danaë sold at auction in 2024 for 126.5 million crowns, and even at such a price the royalty could not legally exceed 12,500 euros. Kupka died in 1957, so his works remain protected until the end of 2027. Isn't it a lovely thought that with every resale a little of the success returns to the artist?
An exception applies to the first resale of a work bought directly from the artist less than three years earlier, provided the price does not exceed 10,000 euros. A sale between two private individuals with no dealer involved does not give rise to the royalty. Outside Europe the rules are not uniform: the United States has no nationwide statutory right, so voluntary models are emerging. In 2026 Bonhams announced its Deans' Choice programme, under which the seller can direct part of the proceeds to the living artist and the house adds the same percentage. Always check the conditions of sale to see who ultimately bears the royalty.
— Anna Pulkertová, founder of Art Part Club
Related terms: Primary and secondary market · Hammer price and final price · NFT · Auction house · Art dealer
