International art leaders gather in London to discuss artists' rights at the CIAGP conference
This week, DACS hosted the CIAGP annual conference, convening DACS’ sister societies from around the world, who are dedicated to managing the rights and royalties of visual artists. The conference explored global developments at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Intellectual Property (IP) and the essential role of collective management organisations (CMOs) in supporting visual artists and creators.
The CIAGP (International Council of Creators of Graphic, Plastic and Photographic Arts) brings together creators in the field of visual and plastic arts from across the globe. The group serves as a forum for the exchange of information, ideas, best practices, experiences, and practical advice on the administration of visual creators (authors’) rights. As the visual arts landscape adapts to new challenges such as AI and advancing technology, CMOs are uniquely positioned to advocate for fair rights and protections, ensuring visual artists receive the support they need.
Lord Parkinson, previous Arts Minister and a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Visual Arts and Artists opened the conference saying:
The CIAGP conference - bringing together artists' rights management organisations to collaborate and share insights from across the world, and speak with a collective voice – is hugely important: to address the challenges facing artists, and create an environment where they can flourish and continue to enhance our lives.
CIAGP is a subsidiary group meeting of CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers) the global network of authors' societies dedicated to protecting creators' rights and promoting fair royalties across creative sectors. It represents over 4 million creators in areas including music, audiovisual, visual arts, and literature.
CISAC’s Director General Gadi Oron said at the conference:
At CISAC, we continue to work closely with our members to push forward the campaign for the implementation of the Resale Right. The past year brought us some good news in this field, with the introduction of the Right in South Korea and in New Zealand. We are actively supporting the campaigns in Canada, Japan, Chile and in the Africa region (in collaboration with the regional agency ARIPO). AI is the most critical issue for our sector right now, across all the repertoires we represent. CISAC is using its international voice and network to the maximum, to put our case to policy makers. Our President Bjorn Ulvaeus, and our Vice-Presidents, who have brought the crucial voice of the creators to the debate.
Throughout the meetings, a key focus was how CMOs can partner effectively with policymakers to secure balanced frameworks that uphold creators' rights, while also adapting to the complexities posed by AI technologies. By working closely with lawmakers, CMOs are instrumental in establishing policies that safeguard the livelihoods of visual artists in a changing world.
Visual artists joined the discussions including DACS member Jason deCaires Taylor who said:
I started out on my own and then a good friend who I worked with suggested I join DACS, and it’s made such a big difference to me. Before I was getting a lot of different requests to use my work, and it was hard to work out what was commercial and what needed licensing. It was a really hard thing to navigate when dealing with multiple territories, with different copyright laws and different languages. Licensing has not only helped me generate income but it’s also a relief to have DACS look after the administration.
DACS is part of an international network of rights management organisations, representing 180,000 artists in 36 countries. CIAGP is an annual conference that brings these countries together to discuss key challenges and opportunities for managing the rights of visual creators around the world.
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