Film and advertising

Copyright law is a complex field. The following checklist can be of assistance if you have questions concerning copyrights for uploading music:

For music and video uploads:

Can you confirm all of the following points?

• Did you compose the music yourself?
• Did you write the lyrics?
• Did you record and publish the song yourself or have you obtained permission from the producer or record company that made the recording?
• Do you have permission from all the right-holders to use the relevant samples for your songs?
• Can you confirm that you do not have record contract with a music label or record company? 
• Can you confirm that you do not have a publishing deal or music publishing contract?

If you can answer yes to all 6 questions, you may upload your music or film without a licence from SUISA.

WebTV is a service offering continuous programmes that are not time-delayed. The user cannot influence the programme playback.

With Video on Demand (VoD), the viewer can choose when to watch a programme: the viewer can start, pause and stop the playback of a programme at any time. Video on Demand also includes videos embedded in websites.

Video on Demand 

Videos and websites presenting the same content in several languages on the same domain qualify as a single video or web presence.

In practice, the uploading person will be sent a warning with a request to delete the video or have it deleted. In certain cases, labels may demand damages for the unauthorised online use. In the case of well-known songs, it may not even be possible to obtain permission to upload. With certain providers, the videos are simply deleted. It depends on the individual case, and on the individual provider and rightholder. 

SUISA can licence all the rights (mechanical rights, worldwide rights for making available , synchronisation rights, neighbouring rights) in what is known as mood music.  SUISA maintains corresponding agreements with various publishers of mood music. For further information, please click here.

SUISA licenses the mechanical rights (production) and the right to make audiovisual productions available. But the production process involves other rights. These are synchronisation rights, generally held by the publisher, on the one hand, and recording rights, held by the label, on the other. To obtain these rights, one normally has to pay the corresponding remuneration.

These are two distinct forms of use. The mechanical rights are federally regulated and are subject to a tariff. Making available is not federally regulated and is subject to its own set of rules. Both uses are public uses within the meaning of the Copyright Act. 

Package deals are possible if the customer only uses a single offer, e.g. if the customer only ever uses music from the same mood music catalogue, or the same music title for all videos. This must be considered on a case-by-case basis. 

A production budget comprises the pre-production, production and post-production costs.

Productions must always be registered before the audiovisual recording is produced.