Design and Artists Copyright Society

The Design and Artists Copyright Society, commonly known as DACS, is a British not-for-profit collective management organisation serving visual artists, photographers, designers, illustrators, estates and other rightsholders. It was established in 1983 and began operating in 1984 as a company limited by guarantee. Its central purpose is to help visual creators manage copyright, secure payment when their work is reproduced or resold, and negotiate permissions with organisations that want to use protected artistic material. DACS occupies an important specialist position within the United Kingdom’s copyright infrastructure. Unlike a conventional commercial art agency or licensing intermediary, it operates on behalf of artists and distributes collected income to eligible creators and beneficiaries after retaining a proportion for administration and related activities. Its work covers both individual licensing arrangements and collective schemes in which royalties are gathered from qualifying uses and allocated to artists or estates. By 2024, the organisation stated that it had distributed £200 million in royalties since its creation. The organisation’s principal services are generally described as DACS Licensing, DACS Payback and DACS Artist’s Resale Right. Licensing enables third parties to obtain permission to reproduce or otherwise use visual works. Payback distributes royalties collected through collective licensing arrangements, particularly where works appear in educational, cultural, broadcast or other reproductions. Artist’s Resale Right administration concerns the royalty payable on qualifying commercial resales of original works by living artists and, in some circumstances, their estates. DACS also provides information and practical guidance concerning copyright and visual-arts rights. Its licensing relationships have included major cultural, publishing, broadcasting, entertainment, fashion and technology organisations. Examples cited in connection with its work include Tate, Penguin, Warner Music Group, Alexander McQueen, the BBC, Christopher Kane, Phaidon, Netflix, Sky Arts, the Shakespeare’s Globe, Sony, Saatchi & Saatchi and UNIQLO. Artists represented or served by the society have included David Hockney, Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin, although DACS’s broader network covers a much larger population of artists and estates. Advocacy is another significant part of the organisation’s role. DACS campaigns for effective copyright protection, fair remuneration, recognition of artists’ economic rights and improved conditions for freelance visual creators. It played a leading role in the campaign that preceded the introduction of the UK Artist’s Resale Right, which came into force in 2006. More recent policy concerns include artificial intelligence, collective licensing, fair pay, freelance working conditions and parliamentary representation for visual artists. DACS also supports the secretariat of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Visual Arts & Artists alongside a-n The Artists Information Company and CVAN Contemporary Visual Arts Network England. DACS is governed through a board and voting membership structure intended to keep the organisation aligned with the interests of creators. It participates in a broad network of copyright, visual-arts and creator-rights bodies, including the British Copyright Council, Copyright Licensing Agency, European Visual Artists, the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations and the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers. Through these relationships, DACS represents or connects with visual artists and estates in the United Kingdom and internationally. Its stated purpose is to contribute to a society in which artists are recognised, respected and properly valued.

DACS emerged from concern among British visual artists and legal practitioners that creators needed stronger practical support in managing copyright and receiving payment when their work was reproduced, exhibited, broadcast, published or otherwise commercially used. The organisation was established in 1983 and became operational in 1984. Its founding group included artists and lawyers such as Elaine Kowalsky, Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, Susan Hiller and David Shepherd. Their initiative drew inspiration from the French artists’ rights organisation Société de la Propriété Artistique des Dessins et Modèles, commonly known as SPADEM, as well as from experience associated with ArtLaw and the Visual Artists’ Rights Society. From its beginning, DACS was structured as a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee rather than as a shareholder-owned commercial enterprise. Its role was to manage rights on behalf of visual creators, negotiate permissions with users of artistic works and collect money owed under copyright and related schemes. The organisation’s operating model allows it to retain part of the money collected to cover administration, information work, campaigning and representation, while distributing the remainder to artists, estates and other beneficiaries. A major chapter in DACS’s development was its campaign for the Artist’s Resale Right in the United Kingdom. The right gives eligible artists a royalty when qualifying original works are resold through specified professional art-market channels. DACS advocated for the measure over a sustained period, and the UK regime came into force in 2006. Administration of resale-right royalties subsequently became one of the society’s core services and extended its work beyond conventional reproduction licensing. DACS developed a broader portfolio of collective and individual rights services. Its DACS Licensing service assists third parties seeking permission to use visual works. DACS Payback distributes royalties generated through collective licensing arrangements, while DACS Artist’s Resale Right handles qualifying resale royalties. The organisation also supplies copyright information and guidance to artists and users. Its work has involved cultural institutions, publishers, broadcasters, music and entertainment companies, fashion businesses, educational users and other commercial organisations. Reported licensing relationships have included Tate, Penguin, Warner Music Group, Alexander McQueen, the BBC, Netflix, Sony, Phaidon, Sky Arts, Saatchi & Saatchi, UNIQLO and the Shakespeare’s Globe. Alongside administration, DACS has become an established advocate for visual creators. Its policy interests include copyright enforcement, collective licensing, artificial-intelligence training and use of creative works, fair pay, freelance working conditions and the effective representation of artists in Parliament. Together with a-n The Artists Information Company and CVAN Contemporary Visual Arts Network England, it provides secretariat support to the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Visual Arts & Artists. It also participates in intellectual-property and artificial-intelligence parliamentary networks through the Alliance for Intellectual Property. The society’s network has expanded beyond the United Kingdom through relationships with international collecting and creators’ rights organisations. These include the British Copyright Council, Copyright Licensing Agency, European Visual Artists, the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations, the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers, the International Authors Forum and other sector bodies. DACS states that this international network enables it to represent approximately 180,000 visual artists and artists’ estates worldwide. By 2024, it reported distributing £200 million in royalties since its foundation, confirming its long-term role in the financial and legal infrastructure supporting visual art.

• 2024

  Reported lifetime royalty distributions reach £200 million

  [1]Design and Artists Copyright Societyen.wikipedia.org

  DACS reported that cumulative distributions to artists and beneficiaries had reached £200 million.

• 2006

  Artist’s Resale Right takes effect in the United Kingdom

  [1]Design and Artists Copyright Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Following a campaign led in part by DACS, the UK Artist’s Resale Right came into force, creating a royalty mechanism for qualifying resales of original artworks.

• 1984

  DACS begins operations

  [1]Design and Artists Copyright Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The organisation commenced its work as a British not-for-profit collective management body for visual artists and their beneficiaries.

• 1983

  DACS established

  [1]Design and Artists Copyright Societyen.wikipedia.org

  A group of artists and lawyers established the Design and Artists Copyright Society to manage copyright and collect royalties for visual creators.

A specialist, artist-centred rights-management and collective licensing organisation for visual creators and their estates. DACS combines royalty administration with copyright education, policy advocacy and representation.

• Copyright licensing

  DACS Licensing

  A rights-clearance and licensing service through which organisations can seek permission to reproduce or otherwise use visual artworks. DACS negotiates or administers licences on behalf of artists and estates, supporting uses across publishing, broadcasting, cultural institutions, entertainment, fashion, advertising and other fields.

• Collective royalty distribution

  DACS Payback

  A royalty-distribution service that allocates money collected through collective licensing arrangements to eligible visual artists, estates and other beneficiaries. It forms part of DACS’s wider function as a collective management organisation and helps creators receive income from uses that may be difficult to license individually.

• Artist resale royalties · 2006

  DACS Artist’s Resale Right

  A service administering royalties associated with qualifying commercial resales of original artworks under the Artist’s Resale Right. DACS’s work in this area follows its campaign for the introduction of the UK regime, which took effect in 2006.

• Rights information

  Copyright information and guidance

  Educational and practical information intended to help visual artists, estates and users understand copyright, licensing, collective management, resale rights and related issues affecting the use and commercial value of visual art.

• 2006Artist’s Resale Right campaign

  United Kingdom

  DACS campaigned for the introduction of a resale royalty for eligible visual artists when qualifying original works are sold through professional art-market channels.

  Outcome. The UK Artist’s Resale Right came into force in 2006 and became a continuing area of DACS administration.

  Source
• Artificial intelligence and visual-art copyright advocacy

  United Kingdom · International

  DACS campaigns for the protection of artists’ rights in debates concerning artificial-intelligence systems, copyright, training data and the use of creative works.

  Source
• Fair pay and freelance visual-art advocacy

  United Kingdom

  DACS advocates for fair remuneration and improved working conditions for freelance visual artists, including stronger recognition of the economic value of creative labour.

  Source
• Parliamentary representation for visual artists

  United Kingdom

  DACS supports policy engagement through the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Visual Arts & Artists and participates in broader intellectual-property and artificial-intelligence parliamentary networks.

  Source

• 2006

  Expand into Artist’s Resale Right administrationStrategy

  Background

  The introduction of the UK Artist’s Resale Right created a statutory mechanism for eligible artists to receive royalties from qualifying resales of original works.

  Action taken

  DACS incorporated administration of Artist’s Resale Right royalties into its core rights-management services.

  Aftermath

  The service became one of DACS’s three principal offerings alongside licensing and Payback.

  Source

• Broaden advocacy around emerging copyright issuesStrategy

  Background

  Changes in technology, collective licensing, freelance employment and artificial intelligence have created new questions about how visual artists should be paid and protected.

  Action taken

  DACS expanded its public-policy and parliamentary work to include artificial intelligence, collective licensing, fair pay and visual-art representation.

  Aftermath

  The organisation continues to combine royalty administration with campaigning and copyright information work.

  Source

1. 1Design and Artists Copyright Societyen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Design and Artists Copyright Society official websitedacs.org.uk