The measures are due to come into force throughout the EU on 1st January 2006.
At present in the UK, once an artist has sold his work he receives no further payment for it, even though it may be resold many times in the future for greater sums of money. In France and many other European countries, artists are paid a percentage of the resale proceeds under a "Droit de Suite" for as long as copyright protects the work – up to 70 years after the death of the artist.
A European Directive, approved in 2001 after lengthy negotiations, seeks to harmonise the position.
The Directive "on the resale right for the benefit of the author of an original work of art" will benefit producers of paintings, photographs, sculptures and other unique works of art. It provides that only works with a value of over €3,000 (£2,070) will be subject to the Directive, and sets out a sliding scale of royalty payments, with the maximum payment for the resale of a single work of art set at €12,500 (£8,620).
While it will make little difference to European countries that already have remuneration schemes for artists, the Directive is likely to have a significant impact on the UK, Austria and Ireland, where no such right has previously existed.
The UK government has been particularly concerned to ensure that any negative effects on the strong UK art market are kept to an absolute minimum.
"Britain has an art-trading tradition which is the envy of the world. We also have world-class artisans who deserve fair reward for their creativity," said Peter Lawrence, Director of Intellectual Property & Innovation at the Patent Office. "This new 'Artists Resale Right' must balance the needs of artists with the concerns of the art trade, and that is why its implementation must be done transparently and sensitively."
The Patent Office has therefore launched a consultation, due to run until 16th May, which seeks views on the best way to implement the Directive.
The government hopes to have implementing regulations ready by the autumn.