Article

Ownership, Risk, and Value: A Critical Response to the Resale Royalty Right (RRR)

📅 20 July 2026 📍 Online
This article examines the Resale Royalty Right (RRR) through the lens of ownership, risk, and value formation within the visual arts market. While RRR is often presented as a mechanism that allows artists to continue benefiting when their works appreciate in value on the secondary market, the article argues that the discussion should also take into account the rights of owners, together with the responsibilities and risks that accompany ownership.

This article examines the Resale Royalty Right (RRR) through the lens of ownership, risk, and value formation within the visual arts market. While RRR is often presented as a mechanism that allows artists to continue benefiting when their works appreciate in value on the secondary market, the article argues that the discussion should also take into account the rights of owners, together with the responsibilities and risks that accompany ownership.

The article distinguishes between an artist’s moral rights and the ownership rights attached to the physical artwork. Once a work is transferred through a lawful transaction, the new owner not only acquires the right to keep, sell, lend, or bequeath the work, but also assumes risks relating to market fluctuations, damage, loss, storage, conservation, and insurance. From this perspective, any future increase in value may also be understood as a return on the risks and responsibilities borne by the owner.

The discussion further emphasises that the value of an artwork is rarely created by the artist alone. Galleries, curators, critics, museums, institutions, and collectors all contribute to the cultural and market recognition that may influence its long-term value. Questions surrounding the distribution of resale gains should therefore be considered within this broader ecosystem.

In the Malaysian context, the article suggests that strengthening artists’ economic position may be more effectively addressed at the primary market stage through fairer pricing, balanced contracts, stronger copyright protection, better institutional access, and improved bargaining power. Overall, the article calls for the RRR debate to move beyond a simple opposition between artists and collectors, towards a more balanced framework that recognises creators, owners, and other stakeholders as interconnected contributors to a sustainable and equitable visual arts ecosystem.

Read original article here : https://senimalaya.com/pemilikan-risiko-nilai-satu-respons-terhadap-resale-royalty-right-rrr/

Image credit : senimalaya.com



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