Companies and 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 lump-sum royalties are in the interest of users, who would otherwise have to obtain contractual licenses. At the same time, they compensate the rights holders for uses that, due to a statutory privilege of schools, companies, and other persons, they are not allowed to control themselves (for example by issuing warnings and taking legal action).

The income of the collecting societies goes to authors (writers, artists, photographers, musicians, etc.), publishing houses, and other rights holders.

The collecting societies are obliged to manage economically and based on rules. 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:

• You must provide the requested information in the form.
• The invoice from ProLitteris is binding and will be enforced.
• You must report any corrections to your data; they will take effect at the latest for the following year.

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:

• The amounts are set out in tariffs.
• An independent arbitration commission (ESchK) approves these tariffs.
• The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IGE) monitors the implementation.

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:

• The royalty is anchored in the Copyright Act (URG).
• The royalty is based on Common Tariff 8 (CT 8), for courses and teaching on Common Tariff 7 (CT 7)
• The amount is determined on the basis of average values, not according to individual copies

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:

• Flat-rate tariffs under Art. 20 para. 2 CopA are permissible
• The royalty is based on statistical average values
• Common Tariff 8 is binding

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:

• Art. 40 et seq.: Activity of the collective management organizations
• Art. 19 and 20: copying levies
• Art. 51: duty to provide information
• Art. 59: state approval of the tariffs

Additionally, ProLitteris is based on:

• the authorization of the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IGE)
• approved tariffs and the distribution rules

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.