The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) offered some best practices that virtual artists could adopt so they can actively enforce their resale rights.
Emerson Cuyo, director at the Bureau of Copyright and Related Rights (BCRR) shared these in a hybrid talk to over 50 visual artists gathered by Pinto Art Museum in Antipolo on August 3 spearheaded by museum founder Dr. Joven R. Cuanang and of sculptor Ramon Orlina.
Cuyo said visual artists often miss out on the financial rewards that other copyright holders enjoy. Unlike novelists or musicians, for example, visual artists do not profit or gain significant income from mass reproduction and widespread distribution or communication to the public of their works.
“Resale rights were established to level the playing field by granting artists a small percentage of the sale price each time their work is resold,” Cuyo added.
Cuyo in his talk said the artist’s resale right is embedded in the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works which sets a baseline for international copyright standards. While an optional right, the resale right is recognized by around 80 countries, including the Philippines. Section 200 of the IP Code of 1997 explicitly stated that artists enjoy a share in the gross proceeds of every sale or lease of an original work of painting or sculpture or of the original manuscript of a writer or composer in every disposition following the first.
Orlina, a Gawad Yamang Isip awardee for visual arts, spearheading efforts alongside other artists and heirs of artists from the Philippines to form a collective management organization (CMO). The CMO that will serve as a one-stop-shop for visual artists to collect their resale rights, as well as receive support in enforcing this right.
“Once this CMO gains accreditation from IPOPHL, every visual artist is encouraged to be a member,” Orlina added.
