Meusac and the Industrial Property Registrations Directorate are organising a briefing session on the Resale Right Directive on Tuesday at the Commerce Division, Lascaris, Valletta, between 3 and 5 p.m.

The discussion should be of particular interest to all operators dealing with visual arts including artists, art galleries, dealers in works of art and collecting societies.

The Resale Right Directive (Directive 2001/84/EC), which has been transposed into national law, gives a right - known as the resale right - to the author of a work of art in which copyright subsists, to a royalty on any sale of the work which is a resale subsequent to the first transfer of ownership by the author.

The royalty on the resale right which applies to works of art the sale price of which exceeds €1,500 and only applies to acts of resale conducted by art market professionals, is payable to the author of the work and, after his death, to his successor(s).

As the law stands at the moment, a successor in title can only benefit from the resale right after 2010, in respect of a resale which takes place after that date. Nevertheless, the directive allows member states a further two years derogation for resale rights to successors in order to enable the economic operators in the member states to adapt gradually to the resale right system while maintaining their economic viability.

Participation is free of charge. Registration is highly recommended in view of seating restrictions and should reach Meusac offices on email address consult.meusac@gov.mt.

For further details and assistance one may contact Diane Farrugia on 2200 3300.