Artists, such as musicians and authors, receive royalties each time their artistic works are used or sold. Hear a song on the radio and you know that its creator will receive a check for its use. That is not always true for visual artists. How often has the astute art patron bought an artist�s early work, which they later sell for many times the price? The artist may have a copyright in the work but not in the resale of the original. Well, that might be changing. The Copyright Office has just issued a comprehensive report, �Resale Royalties: An Updated Analysis,� which proposes legal changes to copyright laws that will allow visual artists to receive royalties every time their original work is resold.
The copyright Office proposes a change to copyright laws that will allow visual artists to receive royalties every time their original art is sold.