Current developments

Tariffs are renegotiated from time to time in order to take the constantly changing circumstances into account.

Expansion of the range of storage media on which remuneration is due

According to the Federal Copyright Law, remuneration is due on the manufacture and import of audio and audiovisual media suitable for the recording of works, such as CDs and DVDs for example. The remuneration is claimed by the collective rights management organisations by means of tariffs.

In 2006, the Federal Arbitration Board approved the new joint tariff 4d, governing remuneration on digital storage media in audio and audiovisual recording devices (such as the Apple iPod). With the arrival of the Apple iPhone, there was an urgent need for equal treatment of selected music phones with MP3 players on which remuneration was already payable. The collective rights management organisations submitted a joint tariff 4e for this purpose. This was approved in principle by the Federal Arbitration Board in March 2010, however with a reduced remuneration. The consumer protection associations welcomed the decision. However, the manufacturers / importers of music phones appealed against the decision. They are questioning the legal basis of the tariff.

Remuneration in the area of Internet TV

For decades, Swiss households have obtained their television almost exclusively via the cable network (satellite reception remains marginal). In recent years, however, the Internet protocol has been established as an additional transmission medium. If the signal is received on the TV screen (e.g. Swisscom TV), the scope of the utilisation is no different to traditional cable TV, for which reason it has been placed under the existing joint tariff 1 which governs retransmission. On the other hand, where transmission to the PC monitor or mobile telephone is concerned, the market has demanded new pricing models. This is taken into account by joint tariff 2b which especially addresses the needs of web-based free suppliers with specific remuneration models.

In the Internet-based television area, the market is vying to win users’ favour with additional services. One such service is the so-called virtual Personal Video Recorder (vPVR), which owes its existence to the joint tariff 12. Users are able to record the programmes in full on a storage partition belonging to a third-party provider and view them at a time of their choosing. Fact sheet JT 12 

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Adrian Frutiger

"If it weren't for SUISA, I wouldn't be able to do what I love doing. Producers do not generally pay much for the music. So rights management accounts for a large portion of my income."