Andy McSmith and Louise Jury

From next month, any art dealer, gallery or museum that buys an original work from the artists and resells it for more than ?1,000 (about ?680) will have to pay the artist a royalty.

In most cases, the royalty will be 4 per cent of the sale price, but will taper downwards on works valued at ?50,000 or more, with the maximum payment being ?12,500, the UK Patent Office announced yesterday.

The decision follows a European directive aimed at protecting artists whose work can rise in value after they have sold it and brings Britain into line with some other countries in Europe where artists already had a resale right.

But there had been fierce lobbying over at what level the royalties would be set after initial indications from the Government that it would set the threshold at ?3,000 - the maximum allowed by the EU - benefiting only the highest-paid and most successful artists.

The Design and Artists Copyright Society, which has campaigned for a number of years on the issue, said yesterday that it was delighted by the outcome.

The society's chief executive, Joanna Cave, said: "A sensible solution has been found that will benefit a generation of artists. The Government has successfully struck the right balance between the interests of artists and those of the art trade. The aim of the European Directive was to ensure artists are supported and the creative industries can flourish. From 2006, UK artists will benefit as many of their European counterparts have done for many years and will at last be entitled to similar rights to those enjoyed by other creators such as writers and composers."

Chris Bryant, a Labour MP who also campaigned for artists' rights, said yesterday: "Artists, many of whom really struggle on next to no regular income, deserve to see more of the fruits of their work.

"It's only fair that the artists' resale right - or droit de suite as they call it in France - should not just benefit the few at the top but the vast majority of artists who have to struggle to make ends meet.

"It's a classic example of a Labour Government working for the many not the few."

The legislation will at first apply only to living artists, but from 2010, their heirs will inherit the same rights. The Government has, however, provided an option for artists to bequeath their resale royalties to charity.

The European directive was bitterly opposed by the auction houses and dealers, who said it would destroy the international art market in London because sellers would go to Switzerland and the United States, where such laws do not apply. The Government, which initially seemed sympathetic to the auction houses, was won round.

The Design and Artists Copyright Society argued that it was unfair for visual artists not to benefit from the kind of royalties system that has applied to authors, composers and musical performers for years.

Until now, artists who became successful and established names could do nothing as they watched others make money from work they had sold earlier in their careers for much smaller sums.

But as many artists earn comparatively little, the society was keen for the lower level to be set. It produced figures showing that by setting a price threshold of ?1,000 for the resale rights to apply, instead of the higher ?3,000 rate, 92 per cent more artists would benefit.

Artists received strong support from the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, which produced a report arguing for the lower level, while a lobby of a thousand artists including Tracey Emin and Sir Peter Blake took a petition in the form of a giant framed canvas to Downing Street, calling on the Prime Minister to "do the right thing" for British artists.

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article333454.ece