Frequently Asked Questions

• Chambre des notaires  (Chamber of Notaries Public)
• Chambre Nationale des Commissaires-Priseurs (National Chamber of Auctioneers)
• Chambre Européenne des Experts Conseils en Œuvres d'Art (CECOA) (Advice on works of art, insurance, successions, inventories, protection)
• Institut National de la Propriété Intellectuelle (INPI) (National Intellectual Property Institute)

The art market professional is to pay resale royalties within 4 months of the sale. 

Upon receipt of the payment, the amount is allocated to the ADAGP account of the artist or rights-holders. 

Generally speaking, the accounting department makes one or two payments per year (preferably by bank transfer for security reasons).

As the resale right (Droit de suite) is not under compulsory collective management in France, ADAGP can only collect resale royalties for the artists it represents.

Under the authority of the Ministry of Culture, ADAGP is informed of all art resales over 750 euros in France of all artists, both member and non-member, who are eligible for Droit de suite/resale rights. It also uses several information and research tools.

It is therefore not necessary for you to inform us when one of your works is offered for sale or sold. That said, feel free to provide us with any information that you feel would be useful.

Sales made in other countries that have adopted Artist’s Resale Right in their legislation are covered by our sister copyright societies.

Due to the very large number of artists and data managed, we cannot provide personal alerts to members.

No, because it is an inalienable right, under the law passed to protect creators and their beneficiaries, which means that it cannot be transferred, given away or sold to a third party.

Any contractual clause providing for an assignment of all or part of the resale right /droit de suite is legally null and void.

The resale right is transmitted to the artist’s heirs after his/her death.

Article 2224  of the French Civil Code states that personal actions are subject to a five-year statute of limitations, which applies to claims for payments under the resale right.

The resale right therefore applies for five years from the declaration of the sale, under the responsibility of the professional. Consequently, ADAGP is likely to claim resale royalties for artists or rights-holders who were not members at the date of the sale and who become members later, in particular as a result of the research that ADAGP is required to carry out, by law.

The art market professional must then pay resale royalties and take action against his seller who, according to the law, must bear the final cost (art. L122-8 of the Intellectual Property Code).

In practice, there are two possibilities for professionals to manage this responsibility:

• Set aside the funds and return them after five years if no claim has been made.
• Ensure by contract the possibility of recovering the artist’s resale royalty from the seller or the buyer for the duration provided by law.

Established in 1953, ADAGP is the French organization for the collection and distribution of copyright fees in the fields of the graphic and plastic arts. It manages all the economic rights conferred on artists for all types of uses.

ADAGP's missions are to : 

• Collect and distribute royalties on behalf of its members
• Defend artists' rights before public authorities and the courts 
• Provide material support to creators through its cultural and social actions

To find out more about ADAGP’s mission and operation, please visit our dedicated pages.

If the work you wish to use is not in the ADAGP repertoire, you need to send your request to the artist or his/her rights-holders.

If you purchased the file of a work from a stock photo agency, you still need to pay reproduction and communication copyright fees to ADAGP.  The purchase of a photographic document on which a copyrighted work is reproduced covers only photographic rights.

Only ADAGP is authorized to manage the work’s reproduction and communication rights, since it has been entrusted by the artist or his/her rights-holders with their economic rights. You must therefore apply for a license and pay reproduction and communication fees to ADAGP.

When a museum is the owner of the work you wish to reproduce, you must apply for a license from ADAGP and pay reproduction and communication royalties. 

Not to be confused:

1. the physical possession of a work or a digital file containing the image of the work; and
2. the copyright, which remains attached to the artist or his/her rights-holders.

You must apply for a license from ADAGP using the online form. All the information required by ADAGP to process your application is listed on the form. 

If required by your intended use, we will forward your request to the artist or his rights-holders for them to approve your project. This process naturally entails some delay; please take it into consideration. 

Once we have the consent of the artist or rights-holder, we will issue you a reproduction license or a contract depending on the requested use. You may refer to the ADAGP Scale of Royalties at any time.