PROFESSIONAL ART TRADERS CAN CONTRACTUALLY ALLOCATE THE BURDEN OF PAYMENT OF THE RESALE ROYALTY DUE TO THE AUTHOR

Author

(Judgment of the CJEU in Case C-41/14, Christie’s France)

Rashko Stoyanov*

 

The contemporary art market has turned into an international market where transactions involving art pieces are being carried out in a number of different states, each one of them having a regulatory framework of their own, as regards the rights related to art pieces. Such a situation demands an adequate level of protection to be provided for the economic interest of the authors. This matter gives rise to a greater debate in the European Union where differences among national legislations could lead to fragmentation of the internal market of the Union and impede the normal course of trade. In this regard, Directive 2001/84 aims to avoid such a scenario by introducing the right of resale royalty for the benefit of the author on the territory of the entire Union. Nevertheless, the mere introduction of such a right is insufficient for the attainment of the Directive’s objectives, without its effective realization on Member State level being secured. Furthermore, the interrelation between the smooth functioning of the art market in the Union and the adequate protection of the resale right demands balancing of the interests of traders and authors, which is a duty predominantly of Member States. It is also possible the CJEU to balance the diverging interests and secure the attainment of the set objectives when such an issue has been referred to it. This is what the CJEU has done in Christie’s.

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Link to the article in Bulgarian language: ПРОФЕСИОНАЛНИТЕ ТЪРГОВЦИ НА ИЗКУСТВО МОГАТ ДОГОВОРНО ДА РАЗПРЕДЕЛЯТ ТЕЖЕСТТА ЗА ПЛАЩАНЕ НА ОТЧИСЛЕНИЕТО ПРИ ПРЕПРОДАЖБА, ДЪЛЖИМО НА АВТОРА

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* The author is a LL.M. from the University of National and World Economy and LL.M. of European Union Law from the Maastricht University, the Netherlands. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in European Union Law and Private International Law at the Institute of State and Law at BAS.