Copyright in music
About copyright law
The Federal Copyright Act (CopA) of 1992 (as amended in 2008 and 2019) constitutes the legal basis for the protection of literary works and works of art. It also governs related rights, i.e. the rights of performers, sound and audiovisual recording producers and broadcasting companies.
The Copyright Act stipulates the rights and obligations of the five Swiss collective management organizations.
SUISA, a co-operative society, manages the rights of composers, lyricists, and music publishers in trust. This means that it collects the remuneration for the authors’ rights and distributes it as royalties to the entitled parties.
Musical works are automatically protected
Pursuant to the Copyright Act, every musical work of an original nature is automatically protected from the moment it is created. It does not make sense to join SUISA unless your works are publicly used (e.g. if they are performed or broadcast).
Who has to pay remuneration for authors’ rights?
Compositions and lyrics belong to their respective authors. Whoever publishes, reproduces, performs, broadcasts or otherwise disseminates a work requires the consent of the author, or of SUISA as the holder of the rights transferred by the author.
Since it is not possible for every user to negotiate with each individual author, SUISA grants users licences on the authors’ behalf for the use of music in Switzerland and in Liechtenstein. Concert organizers, record producers, radio and television broadcasting stations, clubs and restaurants must all obtain a licence.
Weddings and club events
Private use is not subject to remuneration and does not, therefore, require a licence. Private use includes private birthday parties and weddings, for example, but not office and club gatherings, school performances, or background music in shopping centres. SUISA answers your inquiries free of charge if you want to know whether a work is protected, how much a licence costs and which uses are exempt from royalties.
The 2019 copyright law revision
To ensure adequate copyright protection in the digital age, the Federal Copyright Act was revised in 2019; it has been in force in its current form since 1 April 2020.
The most important changes for rightholders and for users of the works and services protected by copyright are:
- Under certain conditions, providers of internet hosting services are required to prevent the unlawful uploading of works and recordings (stay-down obligation).
- Data processing for the purpose of prosecuting the illegal use of protected works was simplified.
- Authors are granted a new entitlement to remuneration for the online use of audiovisual works and performances. This does not apply to music because SUISA already manages the right to use music in films and videos.
- The term of protection for performers, sound and audiovisual recording producers has been extended to 70 years.
- The existing exemption for the use of orphan works (works whose rightholders cannot be traced) and works by persons with disabilities have been reinforced.
- The collective management organizations henceforth have the possibility of granting extended collective licences. They can thus also manage the rights of authors whom they do not represent.
- Photographs are now also protected even if they are not of an original nature.
For further information
Literature on copyright
Literature on the musicians' rights
In English:
Ann Harrison: Music The Business
8th edition, 2021 (ISBN: 978-0753558980).
In this highly readable and constantly updated guide, experienced British media lawyer Ann Harrison provides an entertaining yet thorough introduction to the practice of the English music business. The music business there is particularly interesting from a continental European perspective because its laws can be seen as a bridge between American and European music law. Reading this work therefore promotes understanding of the connections, similarities and differences between these internationally linked systems.
Specialist literature on both topics can be found in German and French on the correspondant language version of our website (DE, FR)
FAQ: Frequently asked questions
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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.
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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 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.
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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.