The Artful Jurist

If you sell your home for a profit, do you have to give some of that profit to the people who originally designed and built it?  Of course not (unless you have some uncommon contractual arrangement with them).

But, if you resell a work of visual art and make a profit on that resale, must you share some of that profit with the artist who created it?  California law says you're supposed to when it involves a sale in California or at auction by a California seller.

The California Resale Royalties Act is patterned after a European legal doctrine typically referred to as droit de suite.  Here in the United States, only California has such a law, and it's the subject of much dispute.

That dispute is now in court.  Artists have filed a class action suit against Sotheby's in federal court in Los Angeles to challenge what they claim is the famed auction house's refusal to comply with the Resale Royalties Act.  The lawsuit seeks restitution of the unpaid royalties on art resales as well as punitive damages.

A copy of the complaint filed with the court is available online.