In the UK there is no form to fill in and no fee to pay. An original drawing, painting or photograph is protected automatically, and when certain artworks resell, the artist can be paid again.
Pick a resale to see whether the Artist's Resale Right applies and roughly what it pays. The bar shows the size of the royalty.
Based on Intellectual Property Office guidance for sales from 1 April 2024. Royalties are collected by DACS or ACS, not claimed from the seller. This is general information, not legal advice.
TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING
Long protection, real payments.
One figure on how long copyright lasts, one on what resale royalties have paid out.
70 yrs after death
Copyright in artistic work lasts
For written, dramatic, musical and artistic work, copyright usually lasts 70 years after the author's death. The resale right runs for the same period.
DURATION · GOV.UK
£144m+
ARR royalties claimed since 2006
The collecting society DACS says it has helped artists and estates claim over £144 million in resale royalties since the right began in the UK in 2006.
ROYALTIES · DACS
DACS says a single qualifying resale can pay between £40 and £12,500. The right came from a European Directive and has applied in the UK since 2006.
FOUR HABITS FOR ARTISTS
Simple steps, no paperwork to file.
Copyright needs no registration, but a few habits make your rights easier to use and defend.
Dated sketches, files and photos of work in progress help show what you made and when.
License, do not give away
Agree in writing how someone may use an image. Selling the copyright itself needs a signed assignment.
Register for resale royalties
If your originals sell through galleries or auctions, join DACS or ACS so resales can be tracked and paid.
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.
WHAT COPYRIGHT STOPS
Copying, sharing, and changing it.
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.
Copyright prevents people from copying your work, distributing copies, renting or lending them, showing it in public, adapting it or putting it on the internet without permission. You are responsible for defending it.
You also have moral rights, which you can keep or waive: to be identified as the author, and to object to derogatory treatment or changes to your work. Work made by an employee in the course of employment belongs first to the employer, unless agreed otherwise.
Questions
Questions people ask
Do I need to register my drawings to get copyright?
No. GOV.UK says you get copyright protection automatically, without applying or paying a fee, and there is no register of copyright works in the UK.
For artistic works it usually lasts 70 years after the artist's death. Once it expires, anyone can use or copy the work.
Who owns art I make at work?
Under section 11 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, if an employee makes an artistic work in the course of their employment, the employer is the first owner, subject to any agreement to the contrary.
Can I collect a resale royalty myself?
No. In the UK the Artist's Resale Right is managed by collecting societies, DACS and ACS, which distribute royalties to artists. Artists cannot ask the seller for payment directly.
