The state of Chinese copyright law isn’t terribly advanced but a new proposal wants to leap-frog into providing an artist’s resale right. The Art Newspaper explains that the proposal is receiving resistance from auction houses but a surprising new argument that is particularly relevant to the Chinese market (though not irrelevant in the West) is that Droite de Suite might also help combat fakes:
Eugene Low, a Hong Kong-based intellectual property lawyer at Mayer Brown JSM, says that the legislation could address the problem of fake works coming up for auction in China. “The auction companies will have to trace the original creator or their next of kin. In doing so, they will have to check that the work is genuine,” he says.
Rogier Creemers, an expert on Chinese copyright law at the University of Oxford’s Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, says that increased protection for artists reflects China’s desire to move up the value chain, away from mass-produced goods. “[China] wants to foster an ‘advanced cultural market’,” he says.
China Debates Droite de Suite (The Art Newspaper)
