If you cannot find the rights holders, you can under certain conditions obtain a license for orphan works.

For you, this means: you may not simply use a work without clarification. First, you must carefully research whether the rights holders can be identified.

If, despite this research, they cannot be located, the following applies:

• You can apply to ProLitteris for a license under Common Tariff 13 (CT 13).
• You confirm with a form that you have searched relevant databases.
• The work must originate from a Swiss memory institution, such as a library, a museum or an archive.

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 applies only to 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 audience, you are well protected.

If you also want to use an orphan work outside Switzerland, you must examine the legal situation in the respective country separately.

Nevertheless, the license offers you the most secure possible basis for using a work whose rights holders are unknown or cannot be located.

A license under CT 13 is advantageous despite a foreign connection if the main use of the work takes place in Switzerland and you want to safeguard copyright risks as effectively as possible.

The following points are particularly relevant for you:

• If the central use takes place in Switzerland, such as the reproduction of a work, this use is legally safeguarded.
• Subsequent use, such as online publication or a screening, is part of the license for 10 years.
• Even if content is made available abroad via the internet or through physical copies, the license shows that you have acted with the necessary care. Without a license, the use would be legally excluded.
• If your offer is aimed predominantly at a Swiss audience, for example through language or content, cross-border use is often considered negligible in practice.
• The subject matter and type of use can also indicate that the focus lies in Switzerland.

You should be cautious if you intend to distribute a work specifically abroad. In such cases, there remains a residual legal risk.

If rights holders contact you at a later stage, ProLitteris will support you in obtaining a retroactive license, including for future uses. There is no guarantee. However, with a license under CT 13 you are significantly better protected than without one.