The EU’s long list of compliance requirements got a little longer after the GPSR went into full effect on December 13, 2024.
The new product safety regulation applies to all new, used, or repurposed consumer goods available on offline or online marketplaces in the EU.
However, the document’s ambiguous language concerning the works of art and cultural products has created a certain amount of confusion among businesses that produce and sell such products on the EU’s online marketplaces.
To further add to the confusion, the document clearly states that all economic operators, such as manufacturers, importers, and distributors, must appoint an EU Responsible Person for the products they make available on European markets, who collaborates with market surveillance authorities.
Consequently, painters, sculptors, photographers, designers, and various other creative industry professionals who offer their works on digital marketplaces were left wondering whether they need an EU Responsible Person to address potential safety concerns and continue offering their creations to audiences in the EU.
This article will help you determine if the GPSR applies to the creative products you’re offering on Europe’s digital marketplaces and whether your business needs an EU Responsible Person.
So, let’s get started!
Key takeaways
- Antiques and works of art don’t fall under the scope of the GPSR
- Collector’s items, like stamps or old coins, are excluded from the GPSR
- Online retailers don’t have to take any action for the products they placed on EU marketplaces before the GPSR went into effect.
- The GPSR doesn’t recognize original works of art, like paintings or lithographs, as consumer products.
- Ceramic mugs, handmade jewelry, unsigned digital prints, and similar items can potentially fall under the scope of the GPSR.
- Artists based outside of the EU may have to appoint an EU Responsible Person.
General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) and works of art
The EU’s product safety laws traditionally don’t apply to items created solely for artistic purposes. The regulation generally covers consumer products sold to shoppers via traditional or digital marketplaces.
Still, the General Product Safety Directive (GPSD), the predecessor to the GPSR, placed nominal responsibility for the safety of the artworks either on the artists (manufacturer) or galleries, museums, and other types of cultural venues (importer or distributor).
The new EU GPSR regulations expand those responsibilities by requiring creators to estimate the item’s long-term potential hazards, draft the product’s technical documentation, present relevant safety information, and meet the tracing and labeling requirements.
However, antiques and works of art are among the product categories excluded from the scope of the GPSR.
As a result, creative industry professionals lack clear guidelines for determining whether their work is covered by product safety regulations.
For example, a photographer selling prints online may have to comply with the GPSR even if they sign each print of the photograph they’ve taken, if they create more than thirty copies of the print.
On the other hand, artists can place a limited series (up to eight pieces) of enamels on copper on the EU’s online marketplaces without any restrictions.
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Determining if an artwork falls within the scope of the GPSR
Establishing whether an item qualifies as a work of art can be agonizing, due to the vagueness of the available information.
As previously noted, the GPSR doesn’t apply to items created solely for artistic purposes, but the parameters for determining whether a product is created for such a purpose are scarce.
Moreover, the document also indicates that paintings and other objects older than a hundred years can be regarded as antiques or works of art.
Annex IX of the Common System of Value Added Tax document offers further clarification regarding products affected by the VAT and the GPSR.
Let’s look at some of the types of artworks that are excluded from the GPSR:
- Paintings, pictures, drawings, collages, and decorative plaques
- Original lithographs, engravings, and prints
- Sculptures, regardless of the material, as well as a series of up to eight sculpture casts
- Under eight copies of wall textiles, such as tapestries
- Unique ceramic pieces
- Photographs, under thirty prints
- Enamel on copper
To be excluded from the product safety requirements, these artworks must be executed and signed by the artist, often by hand.
On the other hand, artworks containing flammable or toxic materials, electrical components, or resembling toys can fall under the scope of the GPSR. What’s more, sellers offering art supplies and similar products to EU consumers must meet the safety, labeling, traceability, and other requirements.
GPSR and digital artworks
Unlike the GPSD, the GPSR also applies to software products, online courses, or similar digital products.
Hence, sellers who aren’t based in the EU and Northern Ireland must meet the compliance requirements, such as drafting the technical documentation or assessing the potential dangers of their digital products.
It’s important to remember that the GPSR only applies to digital goods and services offered to consumers by businesses. So, businesses, including those in the creative industry that only offer their products to other companies, aren’t affected by the product safety regulation.
Still, the document doesn’t clearly state that digital products must meet the product safety requirements, although Article 19 lists the obligations of economic operators in the event of distance sales.
These responsibilities include adding:
- ‘Information allowing the identification of the product, including a picture of it, its type, and any other product identifier.’
- Any warning or safety information to be affixed to the product or the packaging or included in an accompanying document in accordance with this Regulation or the applicable Union harmonization legislation in a language which can be easily understood by consumers.
The GPSR document leaves room for interpretation, which is why it is important to consider other EU regulations, like the Digital Services Act, when determining the scope of your responsibilities.
Nonetheless, industry experts agree that the product safety regulations apply to all types of digital products, including artwork created with digital means.
So, before placing digital art and creative digital content on online markets in the EU, creatives must ensure it meets the product safety requirements.
As a result, creatives offering knitting patterns, 3D model designs, or similar types of digital art must comply with the GPSR by conducting a risk assessment, providing necessary tracing, labeling, and safety warnings, and information.
Should creatives appoint an EU Responsible Person?
The GPSR document makes it challenging for artists and businesses offering creative products to determine whether they need an EU Responsible Person.
Even so, the geographic location is arguably the most important parameter businesses or artists can use to solve this dilemma, as manufacturers, distributors, importers, or fulfilment service providers based in one of the EU member states can act as authorized representatives for the products they place on the market.
Hence, only creatives based outside the EU need a responsible economic operator (a legal person established in the EU or Northern Ireland) for their products. Still, an American artist exhibiting their paintings in a gallery in Paris may not need an authorized representative at all.
On the other hand, a gallery selling handmade lamps or other types of functional art pieces made by an artist from a non-EU country may act as a responsible person for these artworks.
Creatives and businesses that manufacture objects with functional designs, such as jewelry and decorative plates, or offer digital artworks in the EU, should appoint an authorized representative for their products.
That’s why consulting a legal professional is advisable, even if the artworks you want to sell in the EU are created solely for artistic purposes, as it will ensure that you’ll avoid potential fines and revenue losses.
How does GPSR affect creatives selling their work in the EU?
According to Art Basel’s annual report, the worldwide art sales decreased by 12% in 2024, while the sales in France dropped by 10%.
However, the online sales of artworks constituted 18% of the total global art sales, and industry experts expect this number to increase going forward.
Despite these fluctuations, the EU is still one of the largest art marketplaces in the world, providing artists with access to a vast audience.
The new product safety regulation generally doesn’t apply to items created solely for artistic purposes, so whether artists have to meet the compliance requirements often depends on the nature of the artwork, the materials they used, and similar factors.
Even though the arrival of the GPSR may make it more challenging for creatives outside the EU to reach the bloc’s online and offline shoppers, it shouldn’t significantly affect the online sales of artwork and creative products on the Union’s digital marketplaces.
Selling artwork in the EU after the GPSR
Cross-border sales of artistic products remain as challenging as ever.
Although under the GPSR, artworks aren’t considered consumer products as they’re unlikely to present potential safety risks. Still, artists selling creative products on online or offline European marketplaces may still have to meet the same safety standards as sellers of consumer products.
Consequently, depending on the type of artwork, the number of available copies, and the materials used to create an artwork, businesses and individual artists may have to create product documentation, conduct safety assessments, translate all technical files to the market’s local language, and meet the labeling and traceability requirements.
Moreover, creatives outside the European Union may have to appoint an EU Responsible Person for their products.
GPSR makes the process of placing artwork or creative products on EU marketplaces more complicated, as determining whether an item qualifies as an artwork can be tricky.
Are you looking for a seamless solution that would allow you to continue offering your creative products on online marketplaces like Amazon or eBay in the EU? Webinterpret can help. Contact us to find out more about our GPSR compliance solution.
About Webinterpret
Webinterpret supports merchants selling on eBay.
Our AI-based solutions enable more effective selling through automated listing localization, advertising, and returns and ensure all products placed on EU markets are GPSR-compliant.
By giving your international customers a full, end-to-end local shopping experience, Webinterpret improves your conversion and helps establish your business globally.
