Artist Resale Rights

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If a Canadian photographer sells a print to someone, that person can resell the print any time they want, for any price. The photographer has no say in the matter and does not get any portion of the proceeds. The Canadian Copyright Act currently does not include the right of resale nor a droit de suite. However these rights can be reserved by contract.

Private Member’s Bill C-516 (Artist’s Resale Right Act), a proposed amendment to the Copyright Act, is still before Parliament. It proposes “a right to a [5%] resale royalty on any sale of the work for five hundred dollars or more that is subsequent to the first transfer of ownership by the author.”

The proposed Act would apply to public resales by art dealers, museums, art auction houses and art galleries, but not to private sales between individuals.

Some countries, art dealers and auction houses already recognize an artist’s resale right.

But sadly, unlike other countries’ laws and the USA’s proposed ART Act, Canada’s Bill C-516 excludes photography.

 

Please check the date of this article because it contains information that may become out of date. Tax regulations, sales tax rules, copyright laws and privacy laws can change from time to time. Always check with proper government sources for up-to-date information.

 

For old time’s sake

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Last week, I photographed a small conference involving a number of mayors, several municipal, provincial and federal government bureaucrats, a few university professors and some company presidents.

As is my routine, I made sure every finished picture had an embedded photo caption which included the name and title of each person in the photo. Fortunately for me, everyone wore a conference name tag which made identification fairly easy.

But several name tags were partially obscured by clothing. No problem! As long as I had a partial name or job title, I could do a Web search to (eventually) find the full information.
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Canadian photographers and spam

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In a few days, on July 1, 2014, Canada’s new anti-spam law comes into effect. It will probably affect many professional photographers.

Two things to remember: (i) the law is brand new and nothing has been tested in court, and (ii) I’m not a lawyer.

Basically, the law states that a business cannot send a commercial electronic message without having the recipient’s prior consent.

What’s a “commercial electronic message”?
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Authentic photography for corporate social media

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Press junkets are common in the newspaper industry. A junket is a third-party-sponsored event where that third party is looking for some free publicity. For example:

• A car manufacturer will take a group of writers to an exotic location where they can test drive a new vehicle. Of course, the car company will pay all the expenses.

• A travel company will pay for everything when it flies reporters to a series of tropical destinations so they can experience the locations firsthand and then write about their adventures. (Although I’ve been told by one such travel writer that these excursions can often visit a number of destinations in as many days and it can become a gruelling endurance test.)

• An entertainment network will fly writers to Hollywood, New York City or the location of a movie shoot so they can meet and interview the actors and director.

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Use You Clues

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When a customer is searching for a photographer, they don’t just look for pretty pictures on a web site and the lowest price. Instead, they’re looking for clues that a particular photographer is worth hiring at whatever price they might charge. The customer is looking for value which is quite different from low price.

Every professional photographer pretty much uses the same camera equipment, same computer and same software. Most photographers can, more or less, shoot the same pictures although this can vary by a huge margin. So how do you increase your value to the customer?

You have to offer something that customers can’t get from any other photographer. And what can’t they get from any other photographer?
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Transactional or Relational Photography?

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In general, there are two types of customer: transactional and relational. Although, most customers alternate between the two, depending on what they’re purchasing.

A transactional customer cares mostly about the current purchase and its price. For example, you probably have transaction-based interactions with gas stations, convenience stores, grocery stores, auto insurance agencies (at least here in Ontario), carpet cleaners, etc. You don’t really care which business you purchase from, you just want a good deal. Most customer interactions are transactional.

A relational customer, as the name suggests, is more interested in forming an ongoing business relationship. A purchase is based not so much on price but on previous experiences with that vendor. This type of customer wants low risk more than low price. For example, you may have a relationship with your dentist, doctor, favourite camera store, car dealership, hairstylist, etc. A relational customer is often a repeat customer and they tend to spend more.
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Peak Photography Experience

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The word “photography” sounds a lot like “psychology” doesn’t it? :-)

To help market their business, a photographer is always told to be different from other photographers. But most photographers misunderstand what this means.

It’s not so much about the photographer being different but rather it’s about the customer being different. This is to say that a photographer might be considered different if they can make the customer feel different (i.e. more satisfied) compared to another photographer.

Psychologist Daniel Kahneman’s Peak-End Theory says that we judge a past experience not on the overall experience but rather on our memory of the peak moment(s) of that experience and how the experience ended.
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