SUISA

These Terms and Conditions of Use are supplemental to the provisions of the Rights Administration Agreement, to which reference is explicitly made here, and regulate your rights and obligations with regard to declarations of works filed in the Members area of SUISA’s website (online declaration of works).

By clicking the relevant buttons and completing the online declaration of works, you undertake to comply with the Rights Administration Agreement and these Terms and Conditions.

You have the non exclusive, non transferrable personal right to declare your works via the online service made available on the SUISA website. 

The following types of works cannot be declared online:
- musical works created for adding sound to an audiovisual production (film)
- arrangements of unprotected musical works (works in the public domain)
- literary works (texts without music).

You undertake to give accurate, true and complete information about the declared work, especially with regard to authorship, arrangement consents, if any, other interested parties in the work and their respective participations (distribution key).

If you declare a work that has several interested parties, you represent and warrant to SUISA that you are entitled to declare the work on behalf of all the interested parties. You are obligated to provide the other participants with a copy of the declaration of works (e.g. by forwarding the confirmation email or sending a printed copy of the declaration of works).

Publishers declaring works online must attach a digital copy of the publishing or sub-publishing agreement to the declaration of works.

For arrangements, a digital copy of the arrangement authorisation from the right-holder(s) of the original work must be attached to the declaration of works.

Copies of scores and recordings (on an audio format approved by SUISA or as sheet music) should only be sent if expressly requested by SUISA.

You must communicate your correct current email address to SUISA.

For each of your online declarations of works, SUISA will send you an automatic email confirming receipt. The confirmation of receipt has no legal value and cannot be relied upon for the purpose of asserting your claims; it serves merely to confirm that an online declaration of works was received.

SUISA registers your declared work, issues you a SUISA work number and an ISWC (International Standard Work Code), enters your work in its works database, digitally processes the relevant data which it then uses in managing your rights and makes available to its foreign sister societies. Article 5.4 of the Rights Administration Agreement applies with regard to privacy and data protection.

SUISA will not notify you when the work is registered, even if your indications had to be corrected. We therefore recommend that you check the registration in the online database 30 days after declaring your works. If you have any objections to the registration, please inform us within 60 days of the declaration date.

You can log into the Members pages of SUISA’s website and the online declaration of works with your user ID and password. Both must be handled confidentially and kept safe from misuse by third parties. If you entrust third parties with your online declarations of works, you must ensure that they comply with these Terms and Conditions of Use. You are liable for the acts and omissions of such third parties as for your own.

The functioning of the online declarations of works are monitored during normal business hours. SUISA uses its best efforts to ensure that the online declaration service is available around the clock. SUISA cannot, however, guarantee the permanent availability of the online service and reserves the right to interrupt access at any time without giving reasons. SUISA is not liable for any damages arising from the interruption of the online declaration service or from errors, technical breakdowns, disturbances or abuse in the transmission and processing of data.

You are aware that online declaration transmissions are not coded and that the security and confidentiality of the relevant data cannot be guaranteed. 

In the ambit of its administration activities, SUISA may monitor, log, record and evaluate data transmissions in connection with online declarations of works.

You are liable for all direct and indirect damages incurred by SUISA as a result of any infringement by you of these Terms and Conditions of Use, and you undertake to hold SUISA and its sister societies fully harmless from any third party claims (including indirect costs such as legal and court fees). Furthermore, SUISA reserves the right to temporarily or permanently block your access to the Members area of its website.

If you provide false or incomplete information about the declared works, e.g. concerning the rights of other declared participants, their respective participations or the arrangement consent, SUISA has the right, in particular, to invoice you and charge your account for the cost of the ensuing clarifications and re-registration, at the rate of CHF 100 per hour. All further compensation claims (especially for damages) are reserved.

The online declaration of works on the SUISA website is currently supported by the following browsers: Internet Explorer (from version 7), Firefox (from version 3).

You are responsible for the technical equipment of the computer used to access the online declaration service. SUISA reserves the right to change the technical specifications for the use of its online declaration service at any time.

The present Terms and Conditions of Use may be amended at any time.