Copying levies are payments to a collective management organization for the right to use copyright-protected works and parts thereof for specific purposes.
Schools, companies, public administrations and private individuals have this statutory license, and the rightsholders affected by it have a right to compensation based on official tariffs of the collective management organizations.
Without copying levies, companies and other organizations would have to obtain licenses from publishing houses and other rightsholders and pay contractual royalties.
Copying levies and similar flat-rate royalties are in the interest of users, who would otherwise have to obtain contractual licenses. At the same time, they compensate the rightsholders for uses that, due to a statutory privilege of schools, companies and other persons, they are not allowed to control themselves (for example with warnings and legal action).
The revenue of the collective management organizations goes to authors (writers, artists, photographers, musicians etc.), publishing houses and other rightsholders.
The collective management organizations are obliged to manage the rights in an economical and rule-based way. They do not make a profit.
ProLitteris issues an invoice as a collective management organization when it is mandated, based on the Copyright Act (URG), to grant licenses and to collect a royalty.
In the area of copying levies and similar mass uses, there is a statutory right to compensation. The specific uses are not relevant (mandatory collective management).
For companies this means: A royalty to ProLitteris for the rightsholders is owed, regardless of whether copies are actually made. It is sufficient that an organization provides devices that make copying possible.
In order for ProLitteris to issue the invoice correctly, for example according to Common Tariff CT 8, all organizations are obliged to provide the necessary information.
This duty to provide information is set out in Art. 51 of the Copyright Act (URG). If information is missing, ProLitteris has to make an estimate and issue the invoice on that basis.
In most cases, the declaration results in a moderate annual royalty. The tariff has been approved by an authority and the management of ProLitteris is supervised by the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property.
On the basis of the reported information, it is possible that a company does not owe any royalty, in particular if the company operates in a sector with a threshold (royalties only from 15 employees).
If an invoice is not paid, ProLitteris enforces the claim by legal means, for example with a debt collection procedure or a lawsuit.
If you receive a form or an invoice from ProLitteris, it is binding and based on statutory provisions.
ProLitteris collects copying levies on the basis of the Copyright Act (URG) and approved tariffs. These apply to companies, schools and libraries. ProLitteris distributes the income to authors, publishing houses and other rightsholders.
For you, this means:
ProLitteris is an official collective management organization under state supervision. For around 30 years, it has been authorized and obliged to collect statutory royalties.
Companies have to participate in the copying levies so that ProLitteris can correctly collect and distribute the royalties.
For you this means: You are legally obliged to provide the necessary information about your organization (Art. 51 Copyright Act).
The royalty is clearly regulated:
Your participation ensures that the royalties are collected fairly.
Companies have to pay copying levies because, based on the law, they are allowed to use copyrighted works for internal information and documentation.
In everyday work, texts, images or other content are regularly copied or used internally. This use is permitted by law, but subject to payment of a royalty. As a company, you are therefore considered a licensee and are obliged to pay a flat-rate royalty.
The most important points for you:
Courts up to the Federal Supreme Court have confirmed this practice. This means: you have to pay the royalty even if you cannot prove or record specific copies.
ProLitteris distributes the royalties to authors, publishing houses and other rights holders.
The Federal Supreme Court decided that flat-rate copying levies are binding, even without proof of specific copies.
For you this means: you must pay the royalty as soon as your organization provides devices for reproduction – regardless of whether protected works were actually copied.
The courts have repeatedly stated:
Individual use does not have to be proven. What is decisive is that copying is in principle possible in your organization.
Companies have to pay a royalty because people at work use protected works, for example by copying texts and images for internal purposes.
This use for internal purposes is permitted by law. At the same time, the Copyright Act (CopA) provides that a royalty is owed for this.
The law provides for a similar royalty for schools (common tariff CT 7). Private individuals do not pay a copying levy, but there is a royalty on storage media (smartphones etc.), which is enforced by the collecting society SUISA (common tariff CT 4).
The royalty is negotiated every few years with user associations and approved by the Federal Arbitration Commission.
ProLitteris collects the copying levies and passes them on to authors, publishing houses and other rights holders.
The legal basis of ProLitteris is the Copyright Act (URG). The activity of ProLitteris and the royalties it collects are regulated by law and are binding.
Important provisions in the URG are:
Additionally, ProLitteris is based on:
Swiss courts, in particular the Federal Supreme Court, have confirmed these bases and the activity of ProLitteris several times. Two supervisory authorities are responsible for the collective management organizations.
Copying levies are payments to a collective management organization for the right to use copyright-protected works and parts thereof for specific purposes.
Schools, companies, public administrations and private individuals have this statutory license, and the rightsholders affected by it have a right to compensation based on official tariffs of the collective management organizations.
Without copying levies, companies and other organizations would have to obtain licenses from publishing houses and other rightsholders and pay contractual royalties.
Copying levies and similar flat-rate royalties are in the interest of users, who would otherwise have to obtain contractual licenses. At the same time, they compensate the rightsholders for uses that, due to a statutory privilege of schools, companies and other persons, they are not allowed to control themselves (for example with warnings and legal action).
The revenue of the collective management organizations goes to authors (writers, artists, photographers, musicians etc.), publishing houses and other rightsholders.
The collective management organizations are obliged to manage the rights in an economical and rule-based way. They do not make a profit.
ProLitteris issues an invoice as a collective management organization when it is mandated, based on the Copyright Act (URG), to grant licenses and to collect a royalty.
In the area of copying levies and similar mass uses, there is a statutory right to compensation. The specific uses are not relevant (mandatory collective management).
For companies this means: A royalty to ProLitteris for the rightsholders is owed, regardless of whether copies are actually made. It is sufficient that an organization provides devices that make copying possible.
In order for ProLitteris to issue the invoice correctly, for example according to Common Tariff CT 8, all organizations are obliged to provide the necessary information.
This duty to provide information is set out in Art. 51 of the Copyright Act (URG). If information is missing, ProLitteris has to make an estimate and issue the invoice on that basis.
In most cases, the declaration results in a moderate annual royalty. The tariff has been approved by an authority and the management of ProLitteris is supervised by the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property.
On the basis of the reported information, it is possible that a company does not owe any royalty, in particular if the company operates in a sector with a threshold (royalties only from 15 employees).
If an invoice is not paid, ProLitteris enforces the claim by legal means, for example with a debt collection procedure or a lawsuit.
If you receive a form or an invoice from ProLitteris, it is binding and based on statutory provisions.
ProLitteris collects copying levies on the basis of the Copyright Act (URG) and approved tariffs. These apply to companies, schools and libraries. ProLitteris distributes the income to authors, publishing houses and other rightsholders.
For you, this means:
ProLitteris is an official collective management organization under state supervision. For around 30 years, it has been authorized and obliged to collect statutory royalties.
Companies have to participate in the copying levies so that ProLitteris can correctly collect and distribute the royalties.
For you this means: You are legally obliged to provide the necessary information about your organization (Art. 51 Copyright Act).
The royalty is clearly regulated:
Your participation ensures that the royalties are collected fairly.
Companies have to pay copying levies because, based on the law, they are allowed to use copyrighted works for internal information and documentation.
In everyday work, texts, images or other content are regularly copied or used internally. This use is permitted by law, but subject to payment of a royalty. As a company, you are therefore considered a licensee and are obliged to pay a flat-rate royalty.
The most important points for you:
Courts up to the Federal Supreme Court have confirmed this practice. This means: you have to pay the royalty even if you cannot prove or record specific copies.
ProLitteris distributes the royalties to authors, publishing houses and other rights holders.
The Federal Supreme Court decided that flat-rate copying levies are binding, even without proof of specific copies.
For you this means: you must pay the royalty as soon as your organization provides devices for reproduction – regardless of whether protected works were actually copied.
The courts have repeatedly stated:
Individual use does not have to be proven. What is decisive is that copying is in principle possible in your organization.
Companies have to pay a royalty because people at work use protected works, for example by copying texts and images for internal purposes.
This use for internal purposes is permitted by law. At the same time, the Copyright Act (CopA) provides that a royalty is owed for this.
The law provides for a similar royalty for schools (common tariff CT 7). Private individuals do not pay a copying levy, but there is a royalty on storage media (smartphones etc.), which is enforced by the collecting society SUISA (common tariff CT 4).
The royalty is negotiated every few years with user associations and approved by the Federal Arbitration Commission.
ProLitteris collects the copying levies and passes them on to authors, publishing houses and other rights holders.
The legal basis of ProLitteris is the Copyright Act (URG). The activity of ProLitteris and the royalties it collects are regulated by law and are binding.
Important provisions in the URG are:
Additionally, ProLitteris is based on:
Swiss courts, in particular the Federal Supreme Court, have confirmed these bases and the activity of ProLitteris several times. Two supervisory authorities are responsible for the collective management organizations.
An organization without any activity does not have to pay a royalty under CT 8.
If your organization is actually inactive, ProLitteris makes an exception to the obligation to pay a royalty. In such cases, there is also no access to devices with which the organization can make copies (computers, mobile devices etc.).
If an organization starts its activity before 1 July of a year, the full annual flat-rate copying levy is owed.
The same applies if the organization was active for a total of at least six months in the current year.
If the activity started after 30 June or lasted less than six months, the copying levy is owed from the following year. The provisions of the respective tariff are decisive.
If a company has multiple locations in Switzerland or in Liechtenstein, these are considered together, provided they are not legally independent. The total number of employees at all locations is decisive.
The royalties for legally independent organizations are collected separately, even if these organizations are connected through shareholdings or as a corporate group. At the request of a corporate group, the royalties of several organizations can be shown on a single joint invoice.
Organizations can send the information about their invoice by email.
ProLitteris takes changes to the assessment basis into account if they are received within 30 days after the invoice date. This includes in particular corrections to the business sector or to the number of positions.
As a private individual, you do not pay any direct royalty for copying copyright-protected works within your private circle. The royalty for private copies is already included in the purchase price when you buy certain devices with storage, such as smartphones or tablets. It is paid by the manufacturers or importers in accordance with Common Tariff 4 (CT 4).
As soon as you run a business, are self-employed or represent an association, federation or organization, different rules apply. In this case, an annual royalty under Common Tariff 8 (CT 8) may be due. It entitles you to copy, scan, store and share protected texts, images and graphics internally within your business. Small companies in the industrial, trade and commercial sectors as well as certain service providers, for example in personal care, are exempt from this direct royalty up to a sector-specific threshold of 14 full-time equivalents.
For schools and universities, Common Tariff 7 (CT 7) applies. The royalties are usually settled as a lump sum by the educational institution, the canton or the university with the collective management organizations. If you attend or teach at a school, you therefore normally do not incur any direct costs.
In class, you may use protected works freely within a certain framework.
You may adopt ideas, information and stylistic elements without restriction. In addition, you may use works in internal teaching as long as there is no publication to the outside.
For you as a teacher, this means:
The royalty for public schools is paid as a lump sum via the cantons. Based on Common Tariff 7 (CT 7), they pay a copying levy per pupil to ProLitteris.
In teaching, you may use protected works within a clearly defined framework.
The following applies to you as a teacher:
The following are not permitted without an additional license:
Additionally, the following applies:
The basis is the Copyright Act and Common Tariff 7 (CT 7), which covers the most important uses in the school sector.
In school-related private use, you may use protected works for teaching in the classroom.
You may create physical and digital copies from books, journals or the internet, as long as the use is limited to parts of the works and to teaching. An individual license is not required for this.
For you, this means:
The following are not permitted without additional consent from the rights holders:
Images, audio and videos may also be used in teaching without an additional license.
You may copy individual exercises and other elements from teaching materials as long as they are excerpts.
You may use these works in class if the provisions of Common Tariff 7 (CT 7) are complied with.
The following is not permitted without additional authorization:
If you wish to use an entire teaching material, you must purchase it in retail or obtain a license from the publishing house or the authors.
You may use images in class as long as the use remains internal and there is no publication.
The following is permitted:
The following is not permitted without the consent of the rights holders:
If you wish to use an image as part of published teaching material, the quotation exception may apply. This requires that you engage with the content of the image and correctly indicate the source.
You may use subscription services in class, but you must also comply with the provider’s contractual terms.
In addition to the statutory rules on school own use (CT 7), the terms of use of the respective service also apply. In Switzerland, the rules of the tariff take precedence.
The following therefore applies to you:
The freedom of use for teaching purposes is designed in such a way that the normal exploitation of rights by authors and publishing houses remains possible.
In class, the following applies: You may use music in your own class, for example through performances by students or by playing music during lessons.
Common Tariff 7 (CT 7) also allows certain school events if all of the following conditions are met:
Public events, performances by external artists, or events with an admission fee are not allowed without an additional license.
Teachers at music schools are also covered by the scope of application.
The decisive factor is not the type of school or your role, but the purpose of the use. The Copyright Act focuses on teaching and educational purposes.
Specifically, the following applies:
Common Tariff 7 (CT 7) is directly based on this statutory provision and uses the term «schools» as a simplified designation for all corresponding teaching situations.
Individual instrumental tuition is also covered by Common Tariff 7 (CT 7).
School-related private use applies regardless of whether you provide individual tuition or group tuition. The decisive factor is the educational purpose of the use.
The Copyright Act deliberately does not refer to the «class», but generally to teaching situations. Therefore:
A distinction between individual and group tuition would also hardly be verifiable in practice.
Course offerings by companies can also be considered a school. This ensures the freedom of use in accordance with the statutory and tariff provisions.
Continuing education is covered by Common Tariff 7 (CT 7) if it involves teaching that pursues a professional objective in the broadest sense.
A course is considered teaching if it:
Typical examples are professional continuing education, specialist courses, lectures or group coaching.
The following are not covered:
If your course meets these requirements, you benefit from the CT 7 system: you do not have to license uses of works in teaching individually and you reduce the risk of copyright infringements.
For you this means: not every continuing education course or event automatically counts as a «school». Certain characteristics of the offering are decisive.
Under the Copyright Act, libraries owe royalties for internal copying within their own operations, for copying services for third parties, and as lessors of copies of works.
A royalty is only owed if copies of works are made available in return for payment (Art. 13 CopA). If a work is handed over free of charge, this constitutes a loan. There is no statutory obligation to pay a royalty for this in Switzerland. Important: An annual fee or a membership fee is also considered payment.
A royalty is due when a library or video library rents out books, films or sound recordings and thereby generates income.
The amount of the royalty depends on:
For the libraries of the cantons and municipalities, an agreement between ProLitteris on the one hand and the Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK) on the other hand takes precedence. This provides for a flat-rate royalty per canton, which is based on usage data. In agreement with the association Bibliosuisse, each canton pays a royalty to ProLitteris for the rightsholders.
In copyright law, «lending» is distinguished according to whether a payment is required or not. Only renting is subject to a royalty, not lending.
Specifically, the following applies:
The decisive factor is therefore whether income is generated through the use. However, it does not matter whether the consideration from the recipients of copies of works is a one-off payment or a periodic payment (e.g. subscription or membership).
The Common Tariff 5 (CT 5) only covers revenues that are related to the renting of books, CDs or DVDs.
The tariff does not cover revenues in the following cases:
The decisive factor is therefore whether a payment is generally or specifically directed at the renting of copies of works.
ProLitteris offers licenses under the common tariffs (CT) on behalf of all collective management organizations.
These include the royalty for copying in schools and organizations (common tariffs 7 and 8), for rental in libraries and video rental stores (common tariff 5), and for uses by people with disabilities (common tariff 10).
In these cases, ProLitteris is responsible, on behalf of all domestic and foreign collective management organizations, for collecting and distributing the royalties.
In addition, ProLitteris grants contractual licenses. In these cases, specific works are licensed at the request of the licensees.
You can obtain a contractual license from ProLitteris if you wish to do the following:
With a license from ProLitteris, you have copyright under control. In return for a transparent and moderate royalty, you ensure that no rights of authors, artists, photographers, publishing houses, and other rights holders are infringed.
The licenses from ProLitteris depend on the area in which they are granted.
For copying levies and other statutory licenses (mandatory collective management), ProLitteris contacts you. You declare the required information via the form or portal, and ProLitteris invoices you for the correct royalty. If you do not provide complete information, ProLitteris has to estimate the data and determine the royalty accordingly.
For contractual licenses (voluntary collective management: reproducing works of art, orphan works or extended collective licenses), you take action:
Licenses from ProLitteris in all cases ensure legally compliant use and compliance with copyright. All tariffs, contracts and royalties are legally reviewed and are subject to supervision.
Certain uses are permitted by law and do not require a license from the rightsholders.
In certain cases, the law allows protected content to be used without consent:
These uses are subject to statutory conditions and are only permitted within the respective scope.
If the law provides for a royalty for such use, ProLitteris or another collective management organization takes care of it.
Uses are different ways in which you use or share protected content. This is relevant not only in relation to ProLitteris, but whenever you work with protected material or wish to publish such material.
These are the most common uses:
Copyright law is relevant as long as a work is protected. As a rule, protection applies until 70 years after the death of the author. In certain cases, different protection periods apply.
You have to observe copyright when you use protected content and thereby interfere with rights.
Two conditions must be fulfilled:
The following are not considered use:
In the area of schools and companies, the following additionally applies: For internal uses, it does not depend on every single act. Instead, the royalty is based on general uses within an organization, as regulated in common tariffs 7 and 8.
ProLitteris grants extended collective licenses (ECL) for the internal use of artificial intelligence with services such as Copilot, Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude or Apertus.
As a rightsholder, user or licensee, you can obtain information from ProLitteris about copyright at any time.
ProLitteris helps to ensure that fair conditions also apply in the field of artificial intelligence.
Pure AI outputs are not works within the meaning of the Copyright Act (URG). However, outputs that were created with AI are protected by copyright if there is a human intellectual creation with an individual character.
This is the case:
In addition, so-called related rights can arise in an audio (sound recording) or video (audiovisual recording).
If you work with AI, it is advisable to document your own creative contribution. This allows you to prove later that a protected work exists.
In the view of legal experts and in the assessment of ProLitteris, training AI systems with protected works requires the consent of the rights holders.
The question is the subject of court proceedings abroad. At the same time, statutory solutions are being discussed in order to clearly regulate the use of works for AI systems and to provide appropriate royalties.
In this situation, ProLitteris offers an extended collective license (ECL) so that companies can use internal AI systems in a legally compliant way.
You can explicitly state on your website that the training of AI systems is only permitted with your consent. This makes your position clear and documents your rights.
Possible wording includes:
The practical benefit is currently limited, because the legal situation is unclear and AI systems often do not take such statements into account.
AI systems allow protected works to be transferred into an AI application in order to translate, summarize, or analyze them. \^
In the view of ProLitteris, this processing requires consent. This consent exists in the personal sphere and in teaching, because the Copyright Act defines a corresponding freedom of use (Art. 19 para. 1 let. a and b CopA). For companies, such a statutory permission is missing – it only exists for reproductions for internal information and documentation.
For you, this means: When you upload texts, images, music, or other protected content into an AI, you are using these works under copyright law.
For companies, ProLitteris offers an extended collective license. Instead of obtaining individual consents from the rightsholders, the ECL from ProLitteris covers internal systems such as Copilot.
ProLitteris offers licenses under the common tariffs (CT) on behalf of all collective management organizations.
These include the royalty for copying in schools and organizations (common tariffs 7 and 8), for rental in libraries and video rental stores (common tariff 5), and for uses by people with disabilities (common tariff 10).
In these cases, ProLitteris is responsible, on behalf of all domestic and foreign collective management organizations, for collecting and distributing the royalties.
In addition, ProLitteris grants contractual licenses. In these cases, specific works are licensed at the request of the licensees.
You can obtain a contractual license from ProLitteris if you wish to do the following:
With a license from ProLitteris, you have copyright under control. In return for a transparent and moderate royalty, you ensure that no rights of authors, artists, photographers, publishing houses, and other rights holders are infringed.
ProLitteris grants extended collective licenses (ECL) for the internal use of artificial intelligence with services such as Copilot, Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude or Apertus.
As a rightsholder, user or licensee, you can obtain information from ProLitteris about copyright at any time.
ProLitteris helps to ensure that fair conditions also apply in the field of artificial intelligence.
Pure AI outputs are not works within the meaning of the Copyright Act (URG). However, outputs that were created with AI are protected by copyright if there is a human intellectual creation with an individual character.
This is the case:
In addition, so-called related rights can arise in an audio (sound recording) or video (audiovisual recording).
If you work with AI, it is advisable to document your own creative contribution. This allows you to prove later that a protected work exists.
In the view of legal experts and in the assessment of ProLitteris, training AI systems with protected works requires the consent of the rights holders.
The question is the subject of court proceedings abroad. At the same time, statutory solutions are being discussed in order to clearly regulate the use of works for AI systems and to provide appropriate royalties.
In this situation, ProLitteris offers an extended collective license (ECL) so that companies can use internal AI systems in a legally compliant way.
You can explicitly state on your website that the training of AI systems is only permitted with your consent. This makes your position clear and documents your rights.
Possible wording includes:
The practical benefit is currently limited, because the legal situation is unclear and AI systems often do not take such statements into account.
AI systems allow protected works to be transferred into an AI application in order to translate, summarize, or analyze them. \^
In the view of ProLitteris, this processing requires consent. This consent exists in the personal sphere and in teaching, because the Copyright Act defines a corresponding freedom of use (Art. 19 para. 1 let. a and b CopA). For companies, such a statutory permission is missing – it only exists for reproductions for internal information and documentation.
For you, this means: When you upload texts, images, music, or other protected content into an AI, you are using these works under copyright law.
For companies, ProLitteris offers an extended collective license. Instead of obtaining individual consents from the rightsholders, the ECL from ProLitteris covers internal systems such as Copilot.
Enforcing copyright against artificial intelligence is difficult. ProLitteris supports adapting the Copyright Act to strengthen rights and clarify uses.
In ProLitteris’ view, the law would provide protection, but in practice it reaches its limits in the context of international use. In addition, ProLitteris does not hold the rights needed to take legal action itself against AI services.
You can check whether an action concerns third-party copyrights by clarifying four questions:
If you check these points, you can assess whether copyrights are concerned and how to act correctly.
Today, copyright protects both authors and the use of their works in an increasingly digital world.
For you, this means: When someone creates a work, this person decides whether and how it is used – and can request a royalty for it.
Copyright fulfills several functions:
In this way, copyright places the people who create and distribute content at the center.
This is particularly relevant today: New technologies such as artificial intelligence confront existing rules with new challenges. Copyright ensures that fair conditions for creative work continue to exist in this environment.
You can contact ProLitteris to request an extended collective license (ECL) if you are planning to use a large number of works.
The use cases for an ECL from ProLitteris include, among others:
An extended collective license (ECL) requires that the use does not interfere with the normal exploitation of the rights.
If you cannot find the rightsholders, you can obtain a license for orphan works under certain conditions.
For you this means: you may not simply use a work without clarification. First you must carefully research whether the rightsholders can be identified.
If, despite your research, they cannot be located, the following applies:
The use is subject to a fee at moderate prices (from CHF 5 or 10), but is legally secured.
The license for an orphan work is valid only for use in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. As long as the use is limited to these territories or this focus results from the type of content and the audience, you are well protected.
If you also wish to use an orphan work outside Switzerland, you must examine the legal situation in the respective country separately.
The license nevertheless offers you the most secure possible basis for the use of a work whose rightsholders are unknown or cannot be located.
A license under CT 13 is advantageous despite a foreign connection if the essential use of the work takes place in Switzerland and you want to secure the copyright risks as effectively as possible.
The following points are particularly relevant for you:
You should be cautious if you intend to distribute a work specifically abroad. In such cases, a residual legal risk remains.
If rightsholders contact you at a later stage, ProLitteris supports you in obtaining a subsequent license, including for future uses. There is no guarantee. However, with a license under CT 13 you are significantly better protected than without one.
ProLitteris generally licenses all linguistic works to broadcasting companies, with the exception of musical works such as lyrics or librettos.
These include in particular:
As soon as a linguistic work is used on radio, television, or online, it generally falls within the area of responsibility of ProLitteris.
When content that is already available online is broadcast, making it available is generally remunerated additionally.
An exception applies in the case of multiple broadcasts within 30 days: depending on the selected tariff option, the additional making available may not apply.
Which royalty is applied in concrete terms depends on the contract between SRG and ProLitteris. This includes several tariff options from which the broadcasting companies can choose.
The Audio distribution belongs to voluntary collective management.
This means for you: You decide yourself whether you instruct ProLitteris to manage your rights in this area. The basis is a rights management agreement, since the broadcasting and online right generally lie within your own power of disposition.
In contrast to this stands mandatory collective management. There, there is no choice. ProLitteris distributes lump-sum royalties, for example for retransmission in communication networks (Broadcast distribution), according to fixed rules in the distribution rules and without regard to contracts.
In the Audio sector, ProLitteris also pays royalties to rightsholders without a rights administration agreement, provided their works are used and the requirements are met.
The basis for this is SRG's extended collective license. It makes it possible to declare and have royalties paid for rights of non-affiliated persons as well.
Requirements for you:
ProLitteris then searches for you and attempts to pay out the royalty. A rights administration agreement is required for this.
For certain online uses, the following additionally applies:
How ProLitteris handles amounts that cannot be allocated is governed by the distribution rules.
In the Audio sector, ProLitteris can grant licenses only to broadcasting companies, not to other persons or organizations. This explicitly excludes social media, streaming platforms and websites, as well as podcasts that are not distributed by broadcasting companies.
For you, this means:
Providers that are not broadcasting companies must obtain the rights directly from the rightsholders, not from ProLitteris.
A license is always required if you wish to use an artwork for which you do not hold any rights of your own or do not hold full rights.
This applies in particular to reproduction, for example:
In certain cases, the law permits use without a license. These so-called limitations apply, for example, to quotations or private use.
In all other cases, the rights holders decide whether and under which conditions you may use a work.
In the Art sector, the works and rights are bundled at ProLitteris. We grant you a license at uniform and transparent costs (Art tariff).
You do not need a license if your use falls under a statutory exception in the Copyright Act (URG).
Such exceptions are called limitation provisions. They allow certain uses even without the consent of the rights holders.
Examples are:
These uses are subject to conditions and must not impair the normal exploitation.
Important for you: Whether an exception applies always depends on the specific individual case. A license may also be required for non-commercial projects or cultural purposes.
If you are unsure, have your use reviewed. ProLitteris supports you in this and clarifies whether a license or a royalty is necessary.
You must actively obtain a license from ProLitteris if you want to reproduce a work of art.
This particularly concerns uses:
In these cases, the Team Art of ProLitteris grants the license in the name of the rightsholders and issues you an invoice in accordance with the Art tariff.
Licensing in the Art sector takes place in several steps and is directed at the specific use of a work.
First, Team Art receives your request, is informed by rightsholders, or identifies a use itself. ProLitteris then clarifies:
Afterwards, ProLitteris checks whether:
Depending on the case, foreign collective management organizations are additionally involved or rightsholders are contacted directly.
On this basis, ProLitteris prepares a written offer with conditions and a proposed settlement.
You confirm to ProLitteris the definitive use and licensing.
After the use, ProLitteris invoices the royalty and distributes the income to the rightsholders.
The costs for reproducing an artwork are based on the Art tariff of ProLitteris.
This tariff defines which royalty is due for different uses, for example depending on:
For you this means: The specific amount of the royalty always depends on your planned use.
If you would like a more precise assessment, you can contact Team Art. ProLitteris will give you a concrete cost estimate.
Additionally, a processing fee may be charged if your request causes increased effort.
If, after the license has been granted, you decide not to proceed with the use, a royalty is due for the work already carried out.
Before using a work, you must obtain a license from ProLitteris. ProLitteris grants you the license, but cannot provide you with a template, i.e. cannot supply any material.
This means for you: Before you reproduce or otherwise use a work of art, you need written permission. You must create the file you need for reproduction yourself or obtain it from an appropriate source.
You receive the license by submitting a request to the Team Art of ProLitteris.
ProLitteris is responsible for licensing uses of artworks if the rightsholder has transferred the usage rights to ProLitteris.
You can check in the artist directory whether this applies to a specific work.
Important for you:
In individual cases, a rightsholder can determine in advance that certain uses are not managed via ProLitteris. However, this exception must already exist before your license request.
If you do not comply with these requirements, additional costs will arise in accordance with the tariff. In addition, you risk an unauthorized use with legal consequences.
The Art distribution is the payment of royalties for visual art and art photography in the art market. It is part of voluntary collective management.
The royalty in the Art distribution is based on the Art tariff as well as on the tariffs of foreign collective management organizations.
This means for you: You decide whether you instruct ProLitteris to manage your rights in this area. The amount of your royalty depends on how and where your work was used.
Rightsholders. ProLitteris pays the amounts to you after deductions. These deductions concern:
ProLitteris distributes the royalties twice a year to the entitled rightsholders.
If a photograph shows several works, you need a license for all recognizable works. A work is considered used if it is clearly recognizable and does not only appear incidentally in the background.
If not all affected artists are represented by ProLitteris, the following applies to you:
If you lack the license for individual works, the use is legally incomplete. In this case, you bear the risk – ProLitteris supports you with legally reliable licenses.
SRG has a blanket license for the use of images in television programs.
SRG may use images in the context of its programs without obtaining a separate license for each individual work. The basis is a license agreement with ProLitteris, which is compensated by an annual flat royalty.
This license covers all images used, regardless of which artists they come from.
The income from this agreement is not allocated to individual uses, but is distributed within the framework of the additional Art distribution. You receive a royalty if your works were used and taken into account during the relevant period. ProLitteris distributes small amounts within the framework of an additional distribution to all rightsholders who have already received royalties for specific uses.
The Art distribution is the payment of royalties for visual art and art photography in the art market. It is part of voluntary collective management.
The royalty in the Art distribution is based on the Art tariff as well as on the tariffs of foreign collective management organizations.
This means for you: You decide whether you instruct ProLitteris to manage your rights in this area. The amount of your royalty depends on how and where your work was used.
Rightsholders. ProLitteris pays the amounts to you after deductions. These deductions concern:
ProLitteris distributes the royalties twice a year to the entitled rightsholders.
Qualified uses are uses of artworks that particularly strongly affect the interests of the rightsholders.
These include in particular:
For you this means: In such cases, the standard tariffs do not automatically apply. ProLitteris must consult the rightsholder or their representative before a license is granted.
SRG has a blanket license for the use of images in television programs.
SRG may use images in the context of its programs without obtaining a separate license for each individual work. The basis is a license agreement with ProLitteris, which is compensated by an annual flat royalty.
This license covers all images used, regardless of which artists they come from.
The income from this agreement is not allocated to individual uses, but is distributed within the framework of the additional Art distribution. You receive a royalty if your works were used and taken into account during the relevant period. ProLitteris distributes small amounts within the framework of an additional distribution to all rightsholders who have already received royalties for specific uses.
You can contact ProLitteris to request an extended collective license (ECL) if you are planning to use a large number of works.
The use cases for an ECL from ProLitteris include, among others:
An extended collective license (ECL) requires that the use does not interfere with the normal exploitation of the rights.
Internal AI systems such as Copilot are not covered by the statutory license (CT 8), because their use goes beyond mere copying and making content available internally.
Extended collective licenses can provide companies with a legal basis to use internal AI systems with protected content.
If your AI data contains copyright-protected works, the statutory license for private use (e.g. according to CT 8) is not sufficient.
Basically, you have two options:
The statutory license allows you to:
These uses are covered by the copying levies according to CT 8.
For you, this means: As soon as protected content is used in internal AI systems, you need an additional legal basis. One possible solution is the extended collective license according to Art. 43a CopA, which can cover such uses in the future.
ProLitteris is designing a license for internal AI uses with the following conditions:
This license is intended to enable you to use internal AI systems in compliance with the law, without having to clarify every single use of a work.
The extended collective license for internal AI uses is intended to help operate AI applications in a way that complies with the law, applications that in practice are already being used.
Companies receive a clear basis to comply correctly not only with data protection law but also with copyright law. Today, many companies face legal uncertainty.
The use of AI is not automatically permitted under current law. If protected content is used, consent or a license is required.
With the AI license, ProLitteris creates a practical solution for everyday business. It makes it possible to use internal AI systems without having to clarify each individual use of a work.
ProLitteris is in dialogue with companies in Switzerland and is further developing the model based on the experience gained.
Extended collective licenses (ECL) are licenses that enable a use even when not all rightsholders are individually represented.
For you this means: An ECL covers not only works by rightsholders with an exploitation agreement, but also those by persons without a direct connection to ProLitteris.
Requirements:
Rightsholders can object and exclude their works from the license (opt-out).
In practice, ECL are currently used above all for orphan works. In such cases, the rightsholders are unknown or cannot be located, so that individual licensing is not possible.
An extended collective license (ECL) makes it possible for your works to be used even if you do not have an exploitation agreement with ProLitteris.
For you, this means:
ProLitteris designs the licenses so that they are economically reasonable and practical. The aim is a fair royalty for processes that would otherwise often take place without legal certainty and without any royalty.
Extended collective licenses are also in the interest of rightsholders and of copyright.
Previous experience shows that opt-out declarations are extremely rare.
Extended collective licenses make it possible to make collections and archives accessible to the public in a legally secure way.
Even if rightsholders are not known or cannot be located, ProLitteris can still license a use. In addition to orphan works, an extended collective license can also include identified works, provided that normal exploitation is not impaired.
This is particularly relevant when:
The basis is Art. 43a CopA. This provision allows ProLitteris to grant a license with a defined purpose and scope.
This enables institutions to make cultural heritage, such as historical poster collections, accessible to the public without having to clarify each individual right.
An extended collective license (ECL) for memory institutions enables you to use large collections in a legally secure way without having to clear every single right individually.
How the license is structured in practice depends on the size of your collection:
1. Up to 100 works: You clear the rights individually. A simple check according to the checklist (CT 13) is usually sufficient. The royalty per work and year is CHF 5, 10 or 100, depending on the use and format. With a lump sum you can cover all uses for 10 years, with a 75% discount.
2. More than 100 works: If rights clearance is disproportionate or not possible, ProLitteris can grant an ECL. The license also covers works whose rightsholders are not known. A typical reference value: For 1000 works, the royalty is around CHF 1 per work and year for usual formats.
For very large holdings, additional discounts are possible, for example if:
In such cases, the extended collective license is similar to an insurance policy in copyright law.
For you this means: With an ECL you gain planning certainty. You can make your collection accessible without having to assess each use individually from a legal perspective.
The law grants a privilege to exhibition catalogues and declares them license-free.
The decisive factor is the limited purpose of the publication (exhibition catalogue) and the functional form as a "catalogue". It concerns the methodical and systematic indexing of the works that are in the exhibition. For museums, international ethical standards of ICOM, International Committee for Documentation, apply: https://icom.museum/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/ICOM-code-En-web.pdf, in particular section 2.20: «Documentation of Collections, Museum collections should be documented according to accepted professional standards. Such documentation should include a full identification and description of each item, its associations, provenance, condition, treatment and present location.»
The target audience of a catalogue consists of persons who prepare or visit an exhibition, a trade fair offering or an auction. The need for more extensive texts and for an audience that is not closely connected to the exhibition in terms of place and time must be addressed with another document. For this purpose, ProLitteris offers the simple and proven option of acquiring a license at moderate cost. In the case of numerous works, an extended collective license is an option (Art. 43a CopA).
A UID number is the company identification number of an economically active company in Switzerland. It serves to clearly identify companies and organizations vis-à-vis authorities and other entities.
As an author, you generally do not need a UID number. You can leave the corresponding field in the portal empty.
If you register a publishing house or another legal entity, providing a UID number is required. You can look up your company’s UID in the official UID register.
Since 2011, companies and organizations of all legal forms can obtain a UID. Companies with an entry in the commercial register receive it automatically. You can find further information at the Federal Statistical Office.
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