An organization without any activities 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 of the copying levies is due.

The same applies if the organization was active for at least six months in total during the current year.

If the activity started after 30 June or lasted less than six months, the copying levies are due as of the following year. The provisions in the respective tariff are decisive.

If a company has several 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 linked by 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 bases into account if they are received within 30 days after the invoice date. This includes in particular corrections to the business sector or the number of positions.

As a private individual, you do not pay any direct royalty for copying copyright-protected works in a private context. The royalty for private copying is already included in the purchase price when buying certain devices with storage, such as smartphones or tablets. It is paid by manufacturers or importers in accordance with Common Tariff 4 (CT 4).

As soon as you run a company, 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 authorizes 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 higher education institutions, Common Tariff 7 (CT 7) applies. The royalties are generally settled as lump sums by the educational institution, the canton, or the higher education institution with the collecting societies. If you attend or teach at a school, you therefore usually do not incur any direct costs.