Partner William Charron, co-chair of the Art Law practice, has authored an article for the New York Law Journal entitled "Should Visual Artist’s Resale Royalty Right Be Considered a ‘Copy’ Right?"

Charron discusses the recently introduced bill called "American Royalties Too Act of 2014" (the ART Act) to the House of Representatives that would amend the U.S. Copyright Act to provide for a resale royalty right for the authors of certain "works of visual art." This principle is embraced and known in other parts of the world as "droit de suite."

The ART Act appears to run contrary to Sections 202 and 109(a) of the Copyright Act, and proposes to amend Section 106 of the Copyright Act to include a new "exclusive right" for visual artists. This conflict will need to be addressed by Congress before the bill is passed.

To read the article in its entirety, please click here.