Collecting Societies: What is their purpose?

Collective management organizations exist to protect the copyrights of a large number of holders. Collective management organizations are private institutions but often serve a public function in many countries.

Functions of Collective Management Organizations

The collective management organizations are dedicated to ensuring that all cultural creators are fairly compensated for the use of their works. For this purpose, rates are collected from the users and subsequently paid to the artists by the societies. The basis for fulfilling these tasks is the copyright law. The most well-known collective management organizations in Switzerland are ProLitteris and SUISA.

Received an invoice from a collective management organization - what to do?

Creators of works are entitled to reasonable compensation for the use of their works under copyright law. The societies are authorized to assert the interests of the copyright holders against individual companies. As a result, many companies receive an invoice from one of these societies because they reproduce copyrighted works, for example, by using a copier or on internal company networks. The invoice must also be paid if no copyrighted works are produced, stored, or distributed. Just the possibility of copying copyright-protected works using a copying device triggers the obligation to pay compensation. The amount of the compensation depends on the industry to which a company belongs and how many employees are employed. If there is no device present in a business that can make reproductions, then a declaration must be filled out, and the obligation to pay compensation is waived.