droit de suite

/ drwad sɥit /

noun

1. a right recognized by the legislation of several member countries of the European Union whereby an artist, or his or her heirs, is entitled to a share of the price of a work of art if it is resold during the artist's lifetime or for 70 years after his or her death

Word History and Origins

Origin of droit de suite¹

from French, literally: the right of following

Example Sentences

The state law stemmed from droit de suite, the French concept of offering artists compensation for future sales.

From New York Times

Representative Jerrold Nadler, Democrat of New York, championed unsuccessful bills for federal droit de suite laws in 2011, 2014 and 2015.

From New York Times

In France, a study of droit de suite demonstrated that around 70 percent of royalty payments went to famous artists like Picasso.

From New York Times

In an email statement, its president, Theodore Feder, said the group was still hopeful that a federal droit de suite law might be implemented to “enable artists to participate in the ongoing economic exploitation of their works in our country.”

From New York Times

“It could be positive,” said Ms. Montagu, suggesting that Britain could try to attract sellers by charging lower rates of tax on artworks imported into Britain as well as abandoning the “droit de suite” royalties to artists and heirs levied by the European Union on sales of contemporary art.

From New York Times