The aim of Council Directive 2001/84/EC, also known as the Resale Right Directive is to give to the author of a work of art in which copyright subsists, a right, known as the resale right, to a royalty on any sale of the work which is a resale subsequent to the first transfer of ownership by the author. The resale right connected with a work shall continue until the copyright in the work expires.

The Resale Right Directive was transposed into national law by virtue of LN 174 of 2006. The relevant national legislation is the Copyright Act (Cap 415). 

In this context, MEUSAC and the Industrial Property Registration Directorate within the Commerce Division of the Ministry of Finance, the Economy and Investment, organised a briefing session for stakeholders on the overall concept of this directive, focusing primarily on the possibility of extending the derogation of application of the resale right to heirs. Importantly, it gave an opportunity to air views on this matter so that these can be taken into consideration.

The meeting was held on 7^th April at the Commerce Division, Valletta.