An organization without any activity does not have to pay a royalty under CT 8.

If your organization is actually inactive, ProLitteris makes an exception to the obligation to pay a royalty. In such cases, there is also no access to devices with which the organization can make copies (computers, mobile devices etc.).

If an organization starts its activity before 1 July of a year, the full annual flat-rate copying levy is owed.

The same applies if the organization was active for a total of at least six months in the current year.

If the activity started after 30 June or lasted less than six months, the copying levy is owed from the following year. The provisions of the respective tariff are decisive.

If a company has multiple locations in Switzerland or in Liechtenstein, these are considered together, provided they are not legally independent. The total number of employees at all locations is decisive.

The royalties for legally independent organizations are collected separately, even if these organizations are connected through shareholdings or as a corporate group. At the request of a corporate group, the royalties of several organizations can be shown on a single joint invoice.

Organizations can send the information about their invoice by email.

ProLitteris takes changes to the assessment basis into account if they are received within 30 days after the invoice date. This includes in particular corrections to the business sector or to the number of positions.

As a private individual, you do not pay any direct royalty for copying copyright-protected works within your private circle. The royalty for private copies is already included in the purchase price when you buy certain devices with storage, such as smartphones or tablets. It is paid by the manufacturers or importers in accordance with Common Tariff 4 (CT 4).

As soon as you run a business, are self-employed or represent an association, federation or organization, different rules apply. In this case, an annual royalty under Common Tariff 8 (CT 8) may be due. It entitles you to copy, scan, store and share protected texts, images and graphics internally within your business. Small companies in the industrial, trade and commercial sectors as well as certain service providers, for example in personal care, are exempt from this direct royalty up to a sector-specific threshold of 14 full-time equivalents.

For schools and universities, Common Tariff 7 (CT 7) applies. The royalties are usually settled as a lump sum by the educational institution, the canton or the university with the collective management organizations. If you attend or teach at a school, you therefore normally do not incur any direct costs.