Berne Convention

Well, I don't know what we can do locally.

Um, I think it's very much a case of, um, the way in which, um, if you like, the Berne Convention on copyright ... uh, developed, um, that it's gotta be done internationally and we can then give effect to it through domestic legislation.

Uh, and, um, that, that model's been used on so many occasions now, I won't bore you by going through the various examples.

I mean, some of the issues actually probably, uh, could fit within a, a copyright framework, but, uh, a- and you're talking about use of imagery and all that kind of stuff.

this rationale was highlighted during the supreme court proceedings where it was noted that emerging artists often sell works at relatively low prices but later see those same works appreciate substantially in secondary market transactions the dispute before the supreme court The case originated from a challenge brought by an auction house against the tariff scheme issued by Mexico's National Copyright Institute in Dautor.

The claimant argued that Mexico's system was incompatible with Article 14 of the Berne Convention because the applicable tariffs were not established directly by statute.

It also argued that photographic works should not be included within the scope of the resale royalty right.

The Supreme Court rejected these arguments and confirmed the validity of the Mexican framework.

The court held that the Berne Convention requires national legislation to establish the mechanism for determining the royalty, but it does not require the exact percentages to be written directly into the law.

Therefore, Congress may validly authorize a specialized administrative authority such as Ion Dautor to set tariffs through a regulated procedure.

The court further concluded that photographs are artistic works protected under the Berne Convention and that excluding photographers from the resale royalty regime would create an unjustified disparity in treatment compared to other visual artists.

Why this decision matters beyond the art world? At first glance, the dispute may appear relevant only to artists and copyright specialists.