Companies and organizations

Copying levies are payments to a collecting society 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 affected rights holders have a right to compensation based on official tariffs of the collecting societies.

Without copying levies, companies and other organizations would have to obtain licenses from publishing houses and other rights holders 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 rights holders for uses that they are not allowed to control themselves because of a statutory privilege granted to schools, companies, and other persons (for example by issuing warnings and taking legal action).

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

The collecting societies are obliged to manage in an efficient and rules-based manner. They do not make a profit.

ProLitteris issues an invoice as a collecting society when it has been mandated, based on the Copyright Act (URG), to carry out licensing 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 do not matter (mandatory collective management).

For companies, this means: A royalty to ProLitteris for the rights holders is due, regardless of whether copies are actually made. It is sufficient that an organization provides devices with which copies can be made.

So that ProLitteris can issue the invoice correctly, for example under Common Tariff 8, all organizations are obligated to provide the necessary information.

This duty to provide information is laid down in Art. 51 of the Copyright Act (CopA). 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 executive management of ProLitteris is supervised by the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI).

Based on the declared 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 upwards).

If an invoice is not paid, ProLitteris enforces the claim by legal means, for example through debt collection proceedings or by filing a lawsuit.

If you receive a form or an invoice from ProLitteris, it is binding and based in law.

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 rights holders.

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 communicate any corrections to your data; they will take effect at the latest for the following year.

ProLitteris is an official collecting society under state supervision. For around 30 years, it has been authorized and obliged to collect statutory royalties.

Companies have to participate in copying levies so that ProLitteris can collect and distribute the royalties correctly.

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 defined in tariffs.
• An independent arbitration commission (Federal Arbitration Commission (ESchK)) approves these tariffs.
• The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) monitors 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 copyright-protected works for internal information and documentation.

In everyday work life, texts, images, or other content are regularly copied or used internally. This use is permitted by law but subject to royalties. As a company, you are therefore considered a licensee and are obliged to pay a flat 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), and 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 do not prove or record any 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 averages
• Common Tariff 8 (CT 8) is binding

Individual uses do not have to be proven. What matters 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 7). Private individuals do not pay a copying levy, but there is a royalty on storage media (smartphones etc.), which the collecting society SUISA enforces (common tariff 4).

The royalty is negotiated every few years with user associations and approved by the Federal Arbitration Commission (ESchK).

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 activities of ProLitteris and the royalties collected are regulated by law and binding.

Important provisions in the URG are:

• Art. 40 et seq.: activities of the collecting societies
• Art. 19 and 20: copying levies
• Art. 51: duty to provide information
• Art. 59: state approval of the tariffs

In addition, ProLitteris is based on:

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

Swiss courts, in particular the Federal Supreme Court, have confirmed these bases and the activities of ProLitteris on several occasions. Two supervisory authorities are responsible for the collecting societies.