Here are 15 interesting facts about the Resale Royalties issue extracted from the MCH discussion paper. Ireland voted in an interim royalty rights regulation last year in June. Most other European countries have those regulations in place. However the New Zealand market is small and tentative and the potential for depressing the market exists...

Image: McCahon's Golden, (detail) 1959. McCahon still tops resale prices in NZ. Here are 15 interesting facts about the Resale Royalties issue extracted from the MCH discussion paper. Ireland voted in an interim royalty rights regulation last year in June. Most other European countries have those regulations in place. However the New Zealand market is small and tentative and the potential for depressing the market exists...

Image: McCahon's Golden, (detail) 1959. McCahon still tops resale prices in NZ.15 Interesting Facts about the Royalties Debate
1. Total number of art works sold at auction in 2006 by NZ artists - 3600

2. Number of NZ works that would have been eligible for a resale royalty right - 2800

3. Total number of NZ artists whose work sold at auction - 801

4. Number of NZ artists who would have been eligible for a resale royalty right - 636

5. Total value of art works sold at auction by NZ artists - $14.17m

6. Total value of art works sold at auction by NZ artists in NZ only - $12.36m

7. Value of NZ work that would have been eligible for a resale royalty right - $9.96m

8. Amount of resale royalties that would have been collected on behalf of NZ artists whose work sold in NZ - $0.498m

9. Amount of resale royalties that would have been distributed to NZ artists whose work sold in NZ (assuming a 15% collection agency commission) - $0.423m

10. Amount of resale royalties that would have been distributed to NZ artists whose work sold in NZ (assuming a 20% collection agency commission) - $0.398m

11. Amount of resale royalties that would have been distributed to NZ artists whose work sold in NZ (assuming a 25% collection agency commission) - $0.374m

12. The administration of a royalty payment will require a collection agency. The Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS) was the first to collect royalties in Britain but, after controversy over its commission rates, the Artists' Collecting Society was set up to collect royalties also. As a result, DACS's commission rates dropped from 25% to 15% on royalties collected domestically and 10% to 0% on royalties collected from countries with reciprocating schemes. Check out the UK agency at http://www.dacs.org.uk/

13.Most countries in the European Economic area operate a royalties regime for visual artists including
* Austria
* Belgium
* Cyprus
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Estonia
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Greece
* Hungary
* Ireland
* Italy
* Latvia
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* Malta
* Netherlands
* Poland
* Portugal
* Slovak Republic
* Slovenia
* Spain
* Sweden
* United Kingdom
* Iceland
* Liechtenstein
* Norway

14. Countries operating a royalties collection scheme outside of the European area include:
* Algeria
* Brazil
* Bulgaria
* Burkina Faso
* Chile
* Congo
* Costa Rica
* Croatia
* Ecuador
* Guinea
* Iraq
* Ivory Coast
* Laos
* Madagascar
* Mali
* Monaco
* Morocco
* Peru
* Philippines
* Romania
* Russian Federation
* Senegal
* Serbia and Montenegro
* Tunisia
* Turkey
* Uruguay

15. The inalienability of a resale royalty right means that while an artist is living, the right cannot be assigned to another person or entity. It is also unable to be waived; that is, the right will always be enforced on each eligible resale. Inalienability particularly benefits artists at the beginning of their careers when they may be more susceptible to giving up their rights. Giving up copyright is often raised as part of first sales of an artist's work.