November, Selling original works

Illustration: Clément Baloup

© ADAGP, Paris, 2022

"What, valued at 30 500 €?!? The panel you gave to Simone way back then! That must be painful my friend..."

"Don't worry! I regret nothing, especially with my portion of the resale rights!"

It may be that a finalised graphic novel or comic book panel is a collaborative work of art, created by the writer, the cartoonist and the colorist. Thus, the work is their shared property. 

As the market for selling original works of comic books and graphic novels develops, we advise you to use some practical rules concerning the authorship of panels. 

We invite you to discuss (before the release of your publication) with your co-authors the question of sales of original panels... possibly even to come to an agreement, outside of the publication contract. 

Furthermore, it's possible, under certain conditions, to receive royalties in the case of the resale of original panels on the art market (public auctions, galleries...). Resale rights (droit de suite) allows artists and their heirs to benefit from the economy generated by the resale of their artworks. Resale rights take the form of a percentage of the sale price, calculated on the base of a degressive rate from 4 to 0.25% (determined by the price of the sale of an artwork) and with a royalty cap of 12,500 €. To protect authors against the pressures of third parties, the law establishes that resale rights are "inalienable": they can not be transferred by the author, even if he or she is willing to accept. 

The ADAGP has been approved by the Ministry of Culture to receive resale rights from art market professionals. More than 450 auction houses and 800 galleries in France are affected. The ADAGP also intervenes in sales abroad by the intermediary of its sister societies.