Decision of the Federal Tribunal regarding the right to remuneration for the rental of works protected by copyright

Facts

As a collective management society, SUISA is authorised to claim remuneration for all rentals of works protected by copyright, without having to justify a corresponding mandate from each rightholder. The right to remuneration also exists when the lessor is not only the owner of the rented copies, but has also acquired copyrights from the authors.

Considerations

The Federal Tribunal considers that the system of collective management by collecting societies with a legal monopoly allows for the practical difficulties related to the establishment of massive uses of works protected by copyright to be taken into account. The legal regulation must be understood as authorising and obliging the collecting societies to claim the remuneration for all uses subject to remuneration, without having to justify a mandate for each work. This competence derives directly from the law and does not require a contractual basis with the rightholders. Only an express waiver of the right to remuneration by the rightholders could be an exception to this…