Creative Commons licences in Europe and Switzerland

The Federal Act of 9 October 1992 on Copyrights and Related Rights (CopA) regulates copyright law.  This Act is the legal basis for SUISA’s activities. The CopA specifies what rights natural or legal persons – for example:

• Authors (composers, lyricists, etc.)
• Performers (musicians who perform the works)
• Sound recording producers (e.g. recording companies)
• Broadcasting companies (e.g radio or TV broadcasters)

have in their works and services. Moreover, the CopA stipulates the obligations of the collective management organisations.

The law also defines important terms such as “work” and “author”. Furthermore, it determines what rights authors have in their work – and places limits on this protection (known as copyright restrictions, e.g. for private use).

As a rule:
The author of a work is its owner. This means that others may only use this work – i.e. the work may only be published, reproduced, performed in public, broadcast or otherwise disseminated – with the author’s explicit consent. The author may request remuneration in exchange.

The Copyright Act protects all musical works having an own recognisable character and which are created by individuals. Apart from music, other acoustic works of an original nature, characterised by the use of sounds instead of melodies and notes, are protected. 

All these works are protected regardless how complex or well-known they are. A major symphony and a short commercial radio jingle enjoy equal protection under the Copyright Act.

SUISA is the collective management organisation in charge of managing copyrights for non-theatrical music. The latter are also known as "small rights".  Small rights include:

• Music without scenic representation, with or without lyrics (e.g. pop songs, instrumental pieces, oratorios)
• Concert versions of music from plays or operas
• Music for dance performances, if used without actual dance
• Excerpts from theatrical musical works which do not comprise a complete act and are:
  _not longer than 25 minutes in the case of a radio broadcast, or
  _not longer than 15 minutes in the case of a television broadcast.
• Music used in films, videos or other audiovisual media (except for complete filmed operas or musicals).

SUISA handles various rights of use, including:

• the right to public performance (e.g. at concerts),
• the right to broadcast and retransmit (e.g. on radio or television),
• the right to public reception (e.g. in hotels or restaurants),
• online rights (e.g. for streaming or downloads),
• the reproduction right (e.g. for CDs, DVDs or audio files) and
• remuneration for blank media (e.g. external hard drives or memory in smartphones) and for the rental of music media such as CDs or media for audiovisual works such as DVDs.

The difference between small and grand rights lies in the type of musical works involved and in the jurisdiction of the relevant organisations:

• "Small rights" are non-theatrical musical works and are in SUISA’s remit. These include, for example, music works used in concerts, on the radio or on sound recordings.
• "Grand rights" relate to dramatic musical works such as operas, operettas, musicals and certain types of ballet. These rights are managed by the Swiss Society of Authors (SSA) or by the publishers directly.

The distinction regularly gives rise to debate, because the criteria are not always clear and must be interpreted on a case-by-case basis.

If your composition is being used without permission, you must first secure evidence of authorship and unauthorised use.  According to SUISA, works are automatically protected by copyright from the moment they are created.

To be able to prove authorship and the date of creation in the event of a dispute, SUISA recommends two measures:

1. Register the work with SUISA (for members).

2. Self-addressed and registered mail:  send yourself a sound recording or the score of the work by registered mail. This envelope should remain sealed to serve as evidence.

These measures are not necessary to ensure protection, but they do make it easier to provide evidence in the event of a dispute.  If you already have evidence, you can take legal action or contact SUISA for assistance. 

The concession of the Swiss radio broadcasting company (SRG) stipulates that Swiss music must be reasonably represented in the company’s broadcasts. But the term ”reasonably” is not defined.

Like for films, SRG regulated its co-operation with the music industry in the Charta of Swiss Music signed with industry representatives in 2004. Its purpose is to promote the renown of Swiss music and to foster musical talent.

In the Charta, SRG has undertaken to broadcast a reasonable proportion of Swiss productions in its radio programmes.  Swiss music is understood as meaning sound recordings or live broadcasts of Swiss composers, performing artists or producers and recordings with decisive Swiss participation.

SRG and its partners establish annual guidelines for the share of Swiss music in the programming.  In recent years, SRG not only met, but exceeded the guideline.

According to the Charta, the domestic repertoire must correspond to at least 20% of programming content.

A list of reference books on the subject of copyright and musicians' rights is published on our website under "Copyright in music"

You can only register works with SUISA in which you hold a share. Moreover, to register a work, you need to be registered with SUISA as an author or publisher.

As a rule, you must register your works online at:
www.suisa.ch/my-account

Exceptions: Certain types of works still need to be registered in hard copy:

• works composed for an audiovisual production (e.g. films)
• arrangements of original works no longer protected by copyright (free works)

The relevant forms are available here:
https://www.suisa.ch/en/Musikschaffende/Werkanmeldung.html

A work must only be registered once, preferably before first publication. If the work is subsequently used in another form – e.g. in a film – it does not need to be registered again provided neither its title nor the shares have changed.

NB. SUISA only manages rights in non-theatrical music. Please only register suchworks. The SSA is responsible for theatrical works such as operas or musicals.

When a person takes another’s work and releases it as their own (with or without changes), they are guilty of plagiarism.  Plagiarism is a theft of intellectual property.

Unfortunately, such cases cannot be prevented. But you can take steps to conclusively prove your authorship in the event of a dispute. The following can help:

• if you are a member of SUISA, register your works with SUISA.
• SUISA members – and non-members – should send themselves a recording of the work (on a CD or USB stick for example) or a copy of the score by registered mail. Important: Do not open the envelope or package.
• You can deposit a copy of the work with a specialised institution.

Another option is to store audiofiles or PDFs on Cloud memories with bank-level standards e.g. on Procloud. The date and time of uploading on this type of secured server can also serve as proof.

SUISA manages the rights to non-theatrical music: it does not manage any rights to theatrical musical works. Theatrical musical works are works with a plot portrayed by persons playing set roles which rely on music to such an extent that they cannot generally be performed or broadcast without it; examples of such works are musicals, operas, operettas and narrative ballets. All other musical works are non-theatrical musical works and SUISA manages the corresponding rights. Musical works contained in films or other audiovisual or multimedia works do not qualify as theatrical musical works except in the case of films of theatrical musical works.

Other non-theatrical musical works are:

• musical works for dance works which can be used without dance;
• concert versions of theatrical musical works; and
• excerpts from theatrical musical works which do not comprise a complete act and are not longer than 25 minutes in the case of a radio broadcast, or 15 minutes in the case of a television broadcast.

The rights to theatrical musical works are managed directly by the author, his publisher or by the SSA.
 

The rights administration agreement concluded between you as the author and SUISA covers all the works created by you. It is not possible to exclude individual works from the agreement.

This means that, as a rule, all your works must be registered.

However, you need only register works that are actually used in public – i.e. that are performed, broadcast or disseminated.

Important: SUISA does not pay royalties for works which have not been registered.

Each title on an album must be individually registered with SUISA – even if all the songs have the same participants.  SUISA always accounts per work, not per album.

When registering works online, you can use previously registered works as a template. That way you do not have to re-enter identical data and you can save time.

Titles should be chosen so that works are clearly identifiable. Avoid titles which are too general or too frequently used: they may lead to confusion.

If you publish several versions of a given work, you should distinguish these clearly in their titles – by additions like “radio edit”, “featuring…”, or “remix”, for example.

If a work is published in more than one language, enter the corresponding title on the registration form as an alternative title.

Important: In the case of digital publications or sound recordings, make sure that the title of the work is written the same way everywhere. Different spellings or diverse titles may prevent SUISA from properly classifying the work – with the result that no remuneration can be paid.

Depending on the type of work, SUISA may need additional documents with the registration form:

• for published works: a copy of the publishing agreement
• for arrangements of protected works: written permission from the rightholder(s) –namely the publisher or the composer of the original work
• for setting a protected text to music: permission from the publisher and, if applicable, the poet or his or her heirs
• For arrangements of free works (e.g. by an author who has been dead for 70 years or longer, or in the case of traditional folklore pieces):
  • the master source copy used, and
  • a sample copy of the arrangement so that SUISA can verify whether the work is copyrighted.

Irrespective of the type of work, SUISA may require you to provide a sample copy in a prescribed format with your registrations of works.

In the “distribution key” section of the registration form you can indicate how revenues from the work are to be distributed between participants.

You have two options:

• Automatic distribution in accordance with SUISA’s Distribution Rules: if you choose this option, distribution will be in accordance with the current version of SUISA’s Distribution Rules.
• Manual entry of distribution key: if you wish to enter your own distribution key, you must comply with the mandatory provisions of the Distribution Rules.

For further information, we refer you to this page: SUISA Distribution Rules

In Switzerland, a musical work is protected by copyright up to 70 years after the author’s death.

If several persons co-authored a musical work, the 70-year term starts running from the death of the last author to die.

The IPI number is an international identification number for authors and publishers. It serves to unequivocally identify the participants in a work world-wide. All IPI numbers are stored centrally in the IPI system. This system is an essential part of the global data exchange between collective management organisations.

Whoever joins a collective management organisation – like SUISA for example – is recorded in the IPI system and is automatically assigned an IPI number.

If you are a member of SUISA, you will find your IPI number in the members data area of “My Account”.

The IPI number of all entitled parties is also shown in the public works database – this is how you can find other authors’ IPI numbers.

Read more about the IPI number in the SUISAblog:
https://blog.suisa.ch/en/what-is-the-ipi-number/

If you have co-authored a work with another author who is member of a different collective management organisation, you must register the work like any other with SUISA.

Please indicate the following particulars of your co-author on the registration form:

• Surname and first name
• IPI number
• Name of your co-author’s collective management organisation

Yes. SUISA records participants exactly as indicated on the registration form. If you register a work under a pseudonym, the work will be recorded in the system under that pseudonym.

Important: Before you register a work under a pseudonym, please make sure that you have already registered the pseudonym with SUISA. You will find your registered pseudonyms under your personal data in “My Account”.

As a composer, lyricist or arranger, you are free to choose one or more pseudonyms. These names are confidential and will not be published.

NB: Some pseudonyms may be confused with the names of other music creators. Accordingly, when you select a pseudonym it is advisable to first ask SUISA whether the name or a similar name is already taken.

If possible, the title of a work which is already registered should not subsequently be changed. If, however, a work is given a new or an additional title – in another language, for example – it must be registered with SUISA. To do so, use the function “General inquiry/Work documentation in “My Account”.

Changes in participants must be promptly announced. If a new co-author joins, the written consent of the existing authors is required.

If a work or part of a work is transfered to a publisher, the relevant publishing agreement must be provided.

The following changes do not need to be registered:

• new instrumentation
• change in the length of a work

This information is not relevant for the distribution of royalties as long as there are no changes in the shares. For distribution purposes, SUISA relies on the indications in the programmes (e.g. concert programmes or playlists).

Works that are reported to SUISA via usage reports are first provisionally recorded in the database – based on programme or broadcasting lists. In this case, the name of the first person on the list is provisionally entered with a 100% share. This entry does not impact the subsequent distribution.

The royalties for such works will first be accounted when the work is properly registered and fully documented. Meanwhile, the revenues are reserved for five years at the most.

What should you do when you see provisional works in your list of works?

• If the work is not yours:
  Please announce this in “My Account” under "General inquiry/Work documentation".
  If you have played the work as a performing artist and know who the author is or which performing artists are otherwise in the repertoire, please also inform us.
• The work is yours but it is not registered yet:
  Send in the registration indicating under comments that a provisional work already exists under this number.
• The work is yours but is registered under a different title:
  Inform us about the previously registered work in “My Account”, under "General inquiry/Work documentation". SUISA can then link the provisional work with the right work.

For further information, see the SUISAblog:
https://blog.suisa.ch/en/why-are-there-provisional-works-in-my-works-database/

Various abbreviations are used in SUISA’s database. They have the following meaning.

Entitled party abbreviations:

• C: Composer
• A: Lyricist/writer
• CA: Composer and lyricist
• AR: Arranger
• E: Publisher
• SE: Sub-publisher
• SR: Sub-arranger
• SA: Sub-lyricist/writer

Distribution key abbreviations

• P&B: Performance and broadcasting rights
• Mech: Reproduction rights (e.g. recordings, downloads)

International identifier abbreviations:

• ISWC International Standard Work Code – the international work number
• ISRC: International Standard Recording Code – the international number for a recording

When two or more people work together to create a work, that work is a jointly-created work.

A work is not jointly created if an existing work was used to create a new work – for example in the case of setting to music, adding lyrics or arrangements.

Whether a work was jointly created or not impacts various aspects:

• Term of protection: The term of protection for a jointly-created work ends 70 years after all the participating composers and lyricists have died.
• Registration of works: When several persons participate in a work, it must be specified whether the work was jointly created.
• Arrangements and changes: If a work was jointly created (and nothing to the contrary was agreed), changes and arrangements – including new registrations or changes communicated to SUISA – are subject to the consent of all participants. This applies to changes in content as well as to changes in participant-related data.
• Publishing and use: The same applies here. If a work was jointly created and no special agreements exist, the work may not be published or used without the consent of all the authors.
  Consent for normal uses may not, however, be unreasonably withheld. If the contributions of the participants can be clearly delimited, participants can use their own contribution independently as long as that does not affect the use of the work as a whole.

The two declarations serve different purposes: the sound recording declaration filed by the record producer is necessary to obtain a sound recording production licence from SUISA. It is an application for a licence.

The declaration of works filed by an author and/or a publisher enables SUISA to register the musical work and the participating authors and publishers: without a declaration of musical works, SUISA cannot pay royalties.

NB: A sound recording declaration does not replace the individual declarations of works.

No.  The standard repertoire is a list of the musical works that you regularly perform live.  SUISA needs these lists to distribute the remuneration paid by the organiser to the entitled parties

Works of your own composition listed in the standard repertoire must be filed separately with SUISA by means of a registration of musical works.

If you perform regularly as a musician and always play titles from the same repertoire, then you can ask SUISA for a standard repertoire card so that you do not have to fill in a programme form for each show.