Get paid when your work is reproduced on the secondary art market. There is no cost to sign up and you maintain 100% ownership of your work.
Negotiating and managing the copyright of your work for commercial or promotional purposes isn’t always easy. Our Auction House Licensing scheme helps you get paid when your art is reproduced in advertising and promotional materials on the secondary art market. We take care of negotiating terms of use, invoicing the organisation using your work, and arrange payment to you. To date, approximately 340 artists have registered with us, and we have made approximately 170 payments to artists.
It's as easy as 1-2-3
Fill out the registration form here. Next, we’ll get in touch with you with more information, including our Visual Artist Rights Agreement.
2. Sign our Visual Artist Rights Agreement.
We’ll send you our Visual Artist Rights Agreement to sign digitally. There is no cost to sign up, the agreement is non-exclusive, and you maintain 100% ownership of your work. In a nutshell, this agreement grants us permission to arrange and manage licensing on your behalf. We take care of the admin so you can get on with creating.
3. Sign up for MyCopyright
Once you’ve signed our agreement, we’ll prompt you to set up a user profile in our online service MyCopyright. This allows you to manage your account and payments in one secure, easy location.
What is the Auction House Licensing scheme?
Our Auction House Licensing scheme is a blanket scheme that ensures that artists are remunerated when their work is reproduced in advertising and promotional materials on the secondary art market. This scheme aligns New Zealand with over 80 dedicated agencies operating in over 60 countries, including Australia, Canada, the USA and most of Europe. It ensures that auction houses comply with national and international copyright law. When you sign a Visual Artist Rights Agreement, you agree to one clear set of terms. These terms govern every instance of the use of your work by licensed auction houses.
Find out more here.
Auction houses with current licence agreements are: Art+Object, International Art Centre, Webb's and Dunbar Sloane.
If you're operating an auction house or are a reseller of art, find out more here.
Auction House Licensing FAQ
What kinds of artwork are covered?
- Paintings
- Prints
- Photographs
- Drawings
- Diagrams
- Engravings
- Etchings
- Lithographs
- Sculptures
- Collages
When do organisations need a licence?
- Promotion: if they plan to use an image of an artwork to promote an auction. Including posters, brochures, catalogues or online
- Advertising: when they are creating advertising that incorporates or even references a work of art
- Products: when they want to incorporate an artwork into the design of a product that will be sold or used to promote a business
If you're operating an auction house or are a reseller of art, find out more here.
Pricing, charges, and MyCopyright
In December 2024 we adjusted our schedule of licence fees to be equitable for vendors, and in-line with the Artist Resale Royalty legislation which came into effect on 1 December 2024.
We are a not for profit organisation and don't charge artists a membership fee. Instead, we deduct a flat rate of 20% from all licensing transactions, to cover our running costs. The remaining 80% is paid directly to the artist.
MyCopyright makes it easy to manage your rights payments. Through this online service you can:
- activate distribution payments from us
- keep your account information up to date
- verify your bank account details securely
If you’re an existing user of MyCopyright and have questions or need support, contact us or download this handy User Guide to get you started.
Want help managing your creative rights?
MyCreativeRights is a secure cloud-based online tool that combines two key services to help creative practitioners maximise the value and security of their work. Catalogue – document and manage records of creative works, contracts and associated documents, and Legal Service – access to extensive copyright knowledge and subsidised legal assistance.
Ensure your creative works are protected with Legal Service. Access experienced legal advisors specialising in the creative industries, providing reliable legal advice tailored to your specific needs. Whether it is a simple question about copyright, help with a licensing agreement or advice on how to negotiate the terms of a legal contract – we’ve got you covered.
To help you get started, we’re offering a *FREE 15-minute phone consultation with one of our legal advisors. Click here for more information.
*Free 15-minute phone consults are available for a limited time only. Legal consults are subsidised by Manatū Taonga, Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
You're in good hands.
We have been working with New Zealand authors and creatives in the publishing industry for over 25 years and we're excited to be able to offer the same licensing management services to visual artists. Read more about us here.
