The member organizations of the International Council of Graphic, Plastic and Photographic Artists (CIAGP), a constituent body of the International Confederation of Associations of Authors and Composers (CISAC), held their annual meeting in September 2009 and discussed key issues affecting the rights of the creative community. Given the growing number of ways in which works are made available, developing a consensus between authors’ and composers’ associations is increasingly necessary to protect and assert your rights. Gilles Lessard, Manager of SODRAC’s Visual Arts and Crafts Department, attended the meeting along with 55 representatives of 27 affiliated organizations from around the world with which SODRAC has entered into reciprocal representation agreements.
Topics on the agenda included resale rights, which drew the attention of all participants. It should be noted that resale rights enable creators or their heirs to receive a percentage of the resale price of their works. Representatives of various member organizations reviewed the outcome of implementing resale rights in their respective countries, including the obstacles encountered. Since the adoption of resale rights by the signatories to the Berne Convention is currently optional, the CIAGP meeting unanimously supported a resolution calling for the mandatory adoption of resale rights by the signatory countries (including Canada), as well as for resale rights to be administered by a collective management society, to the benefit of all living authors and their heirs during the copyright protection period.