Authors of visual works

Membership means that ProLitteris manages certain rights and that you receive royalties for the use of your works.

Specifically, membership offers you:

• You receive payments in the main distribution in accordance with the distribution rules.
• You can benefit from additional management services when your texts are broadcast on radio and television or when your visual works are reproduced on the art market.
• You can become a member of the cooperative, take part in the general meeting and — as an author— receive support from the social welfare foundation.

The management agreement is free of charge and forms the basis for ProLitteris to collect and pay out royalties for you. You define yourself in the ProLitteris portal which rights are included. You can adapt your choice annually.

Your works are protected independently of membership at ProLitteris. Copyright protection arises automatically upon creation.

Become a member as early as possible so that you do not miss out on any royalties and can later, if necessary, receive social benefits.

You can become a member of ProLitteris if you are an author, a publishing house or an heir and have created published works that are used by third parties.

A management agreement is useful for you if you are regularly active in creative or journalistic work, for example:

• contributions in books, newspapers or magazines
• content for radio or television
• works of visual art or photography

As a member, you receive royalties from uses that are compensated by law as well as from further uses that you can hardly organize yourself.

Membership is free of charge. The terms of the management agreement and the articles of association apply.

ProLitteris manages published works in the areas of text and image, as defined in the terms of management.

These include:

• Texts: journalism, science, fiction, non-fiction, art books, spoken word, comedy, books and newspapers/magazines of all kinds
• Images: works of art, photographs, illustrations, sculptures, visual works of all kinds
• Also contributions in copies of works and parts of works, provided that they are independently protected

What is decisive is whether participation in a distribution is possible. The distributions of statutory royalties concern printed works (Print distribution for books and newspapers/magazines), internet (Online distribution, especially for journalistic and scientific online services), radio and television (Broadcast distribution) and exhibited works (Expo distribution from 2027).

For music, film and stage, other collecting societies are usually responsible.

When you register and in the context of distributions, you confirm that your works are protected by copyright and that you hold the corresponding rights. ProLitteris verifies this where necessary.

You can apply for a management agreement if you meet certain prerequisites regarding yourself, your works, and your rights.

The conditions for all rights holders are:

• Residence or nationality in Switzerland or Liechtenstein; as a publishing house you need a registered office or a branch
• Rights in texts or images that are published and accessible in Switzerland or Liechtenstein
• Evidence of works as required by ProLitteris (ISBN, ISSN, website, exhibition, etc.)

Additional conditions for publishing houses:

• UID number
• Activities and resources in Switzerland or Liechtenstein, e.g. staff, production, distribution, and marketing

The executive management of ProLitteris reviews your application on the basis of the articles of association and the terms of management and decides on the conclusion of the management agreement.

No, you cannot conclude a management agreement retroactively. The agreement applies from the time it is concluded and for the future.

However, it covers all rights and works that belong to you—both existing and future ones. Your previous works are therefore included in the management, even if the agreement is only concluded at a later date.

It is advisable to conclude the management agreement as early as possible, as soon as you are working professionally. This way you ensure that your rights are recorded from the outset.

If you additionally become a member of the cooperative, this may later also be relevant for possible social benefits.

A management agreement is not necessary for your works to be protected. Protection arises automatically as soon as you create a work. A management agreement with ProLitteris serves to obtain royalties for the use of your works.

Authors do not have to register their works or conclude a contract. This distinguishes copyright from patents, trademarks, and designs.

ProLitteris recommends accompanying the publication of works with information on authorship and rights. In addition, ProLitteris offers a digital deposit that can make it easier to provide evidence. However, this is not a requirement, neither towards ProLitteris nor towards third parties who might one day contest the copyrights.

Membership has no disadvantages. ProLitteris manages statutory rights that are independent of the agreements between different rights holders.

Only in a small part of Sector Audio do agreements between authors and publishing houses play a role. For readings and film adaptations of literature offered by broadcasting organizations, it depends on the individual publishing agreement whether the author or the publishing house is responsible.

You can adjust all rights annually in the ProLitteris portal.

A management agreement with ProLitteris therefore has no legal or practical disadvantages for you. You retain control over your rights.

In the main distribution, you receive royalties independently of your agreements with other persons. Eligible are authors, publishing houses, and heirs of authors.

The reason is the mandatory collective management. Royalties are calculated independently and you are entitled to them by law.

The situation is different with voluntary collective management. At ProLitteris, this affects the sectors Audio and Art. Here, ProLitteris can only manage the rights that actually lie with you. If rights have already been transferred to a publishing house, a museum, or another person before they were transferred to ProLitteris in the management agreement, ProLitteris cannot license any uses.

This is how you avoid conflicts:

• Exclusion of the sectors Audio and/or Art in the management agreement
• Adjustment of the transfer of rights
• Sector Art: define individual exceptions for individual works or uses

You can adjust the rights in the ProLitteris portal until 30.09. and the changes take effect on 01.01. of the following year.

In the event of death, copyright passes to the persons entitled to inherit. Who receives the rights is determined by inheritance law.

If several persons inherit, they form a community of heirs. This community appoints a joint representation that takes over contact with ProLitteris. The basis for this is a certificate of inheritance.

During their lifetime, the management agreement always remains tied to the author. Other persons or institutions cannot conclude the agreement — even if they have received rights. Only after death can the persons entitled to inherit take over the management agreement or conclude a new one and continue to manage the rights.

A foundation cannot become a member during the author’s lifetime. However, authors can authorize a person to manage their account and handle administration in dealings with ProLitteris.

Membership in several collecting societies only makes sense if you work in different areas, for example as a visual artist and at the same time as a musician. For texts and images, membership with ProLitteris is sufficient.

For legal and administrative reasons, ProLitteris avoids simultaneous membership with another collecting society with the same activities. In the past, this led to additional effort and to a lack of clarity regarding royalties.

ProLitteris cooperates with foreign societies so that you receive royalties from abroad even without dual membership. In some cases, it is possible for rights holders of another collecting society to participate directly in the distributions of ProLitteris. For all other cases and rights holders, ProLitteris pays the other collecting society an annual quota defined by the supervisory board.