Please refer to our list of Frequently Asked Questions and answers. These derive from repeated enquiries from artists and art market professionals. We hope they will clarify anything that has not been already stated on our website. If not, please contact us.
| Q: What happens if my work is resold abroad? |
| A: ACS is making provisions with collecting societies throughout the EEA and wherever Artist’s Resale Right applies, to collect Artist’s Resale Right on your work if it is resold outside of the UK. |
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| Q: How do I join ACS? |
| A: All you need to do is complete a registration form. Click here to register with ACS. Alternatively call us on 0845 11 22 400 or email us at info@artistscollectingsociety.org.uk for more information. |
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| Q: Is there any joining fee? |
| A: No. ACS does not make any charge to artists who wish to mandate us to collect on their behalf. |
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| Q: What happens if my work is resold privately? |
| A: Works of art which are sold between two private individuals who are not professional art traders or agents are not eligible for Artist’s Resale Right. |
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| Q: Who pays the Artist’s Resale Right? |
| A: The person who resells your work is responsible for the payment of Artist’s Resale Right. This means, the dealer, agent or any other professional art trader who sells your work, subsequent to the first transfer of ownership from yourself, will be billed for the royalty. |
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| Q: How much do I get? |
A: The royalty payment due to you is calculated as a percentage of the resale price as follows:
| From 1,000 to 50,000 |
4.00% |
| From 50,000.01 to 200,000 |
3.00% |
| From 200,000.01 to 350,000 |
1.00% |
| From 350,000.01 to 500,000 |
0.50% |
| Over 500,000 |
0.25% |
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| Q: What happens if I disagree with the Artist’s Resale Right? |
| A: Many artists have voiced concern over the introduction of Artist’s Resale Right, however, the UK government passed the statutory instrument enforcing Artist’s Resale Right on February 14th, 2006. Because the UK Regulations state that Artist’s Resale Right must be managed by a designated collecting society, Artist’s Resale Right will be collected by a society on your behalf. We ask that you consider which collecting society you would like to mandate. At present you can choose either ACS or the Design and Artists Copyright Society. |
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| Q: Can I assign my Artist’s Resale Right to someone else? |
| A: No. The royalty can only be paid to you as the artist of the work which has been resold. However, once you receive the royalty payment, you can do whatever you like with it. |
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| Q: What happens if I do nothing? |
| A: As stated above, because the UK Regulations state that Artist’s Resale Right must be managed by a designated collecting society, Artist’s Resale Right will be collected by the Design and Artists’ Copyright Society on your behalf, whether you actively mandate them or not. That is unless you choose to mandate an alternative collecting society such as ACS. If you do nothing, the Design and Artists Copyright Society will hold onto your money until they receive information upon your whereabouts and how you would like to be paid. We ask that you consider which collecting society you would like to nominate for the administration of your Artist’s Resale Right. |
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| Q: How does it work? |
| A: Once you register with ACS we will monitor all sales of your work all over the world. We will record those sales and invoice the art seller for Artist’s Resale Right. This royalty will then be passed back to you, less 15% to cover our administration costs. |
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| Q: What can I do if I have already registered with another collecting society? |
| A: If you have already registered with another collecting society for the collection of Artist’s Resale Right, you are at liberty to change your mind. Check the terms of your agreement but most agreements will require a three-month notice period to terminate. If you have registered with another collecting society for the collection of your copyright or any other rights, it may be possible that you can register with ACS for the management of your Artist’s Resale Right at the same time. |
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| Q: What happens if my work is resold on the internet? |
| A: Artist’s Resale Right will still apply if a professional art trader uses an internet-based service or an internet platform to sell your work as long as your work qualifies under the other criteria. |
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| Q: When will I receive any money? |
| A: We are invoicing professional art traders on a quarterly basis for your Artist’s Resale Right. Once we receive payment from the art trader, we will distribute your royalty payments as quickly as possible. |
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| Q: Why can’t I receive my royalty from my dealer? |
| A: The UK Regulations stipulate that Artist’s Resale Right must be managed by a collecting society. This means that the royalty must be collected by a collecting society before it is paid to you. |
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| Q: Why should I choose ACS? |
| A: ACS has been established as a reaction to a specific request by a number of artists for the presence of an alternative collecting society. Unlike other collecting societies, ACS has been established solely for the collection of Artist’s Resale Right. This means ACS is 100% dedicated to administering the most time and cost efficient collection and distribution procedures of the right to our member artists. Because ACS has been established as a not-for-profit ‘Community Interest Company’, our management of your royalty payments is monitored by the Department of Trade and Industry to ensure that we conduct our procedures in your best interests. We promise to distribute your royalty payments as quickly as possible. Due to our sponsors The Bridgeman Art Library, the fine arts reprographic service, ACS is able to offer you a full copyright collection service through its sponsor, The Bridgeman Art Library which includes the promotion of your works all over the world. |
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| Q: What happens when I die? |
| A: At present Artist’s Resale Right is not applicable after your death. However, you can make provision in your Will to assign the right to your heir or a charity and this might be advisable in view of possible subsequent legislation for the extension of Artist’s Resale Right to the full copyright term of 70 years after death. |
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