Copyright Ordinance (CopO)
English is not an official language of the Swiss Confederation. This translation is provided for information purposes only and has no legal force.
Section 1 Organisation
Art. 1 Appointment
1 When appointing the members of the Federal Arbitration Commission for the Exploitation of Copyrights and Related Rights (Arbitration Commission), the Federal Council shall ensure that there is a balanced composition of members that takes appropriate account of specialist knowledge, the four linguistic communities, the regions of the country as well as both genders. 2 The Federal Council shall designate the chair, the co-arbitrators, their deputies and additional arbitrators. The vice-chair is chosen from the co-arbitrators. 3 The Federal Department of Justice and Police (the Department) shall publish the surnames, first names and places of residence of the newly-appointed members in the Federal Gazette. 4 The Department shall submit proposals to the Federal Council insofar as appointments and administrative matters fall within its competence.
Art. 2 Legal status
1 The term of office, resignation from the Arbitration Commission and entitlement to remuneration of members of the Commission are governed by the Commissions Ordinance of 3 June 1996. 2 The members of the Commission are bound by official secrecy.
Art. 2 — Amended by No I of the O of 21 May 2008, in force since 1 July 2008 (AS 2008 2427). Para. 1 — [AS 1996 1651, 2000 1157, 2008 5949 No II. AS 2009 6137 No II 1]. See now: Art. 8a et seq. of the Ordinance of 25 Nov. 1998 on the Organisation of the Government and the Federal Administration (SR 172.010.1).
Art. 3 Administrative management
1 The chair is responsible for the administrative management of the Arbitration Commission. If the chairperson is unable to carry out this task, it shall be undertaken by the vice-chair. 2 The secretariat (Art. 4) may be called upon for support in administrative activities.
Art. 4 Secretariat
1 In agreement with the chair of the Arbitration Commission, the Department shall appoint the secretariat of the Arbitration Commission, which shall be headed by a legal secretary. The Department shall provide the necessary infrastructure. 1bis The employment relationship of the secretariat personnel is governed by federal legislation on the personnel of the Confederation. 2 The secretariat is independent from the administrative authorities in carrying out its functions and is only bound to the instructions of the chair. 3 The legal secretary shall carry out the following tasks, in particular: a. drafting decisions, consultations and communications addressed to parties and authorities; b. taking minutes; c. maintaining documentation, providing the public with information about the Arbitration Commission and editing decisions intended for publication. 4 The legal secretary acts in an advisory capacity in procedures in which he or she is taking minutes.
Para. 1 — Amended by No I of the O of 25 Oct. 1995, in force since 1 Jan. 1996 (AS 1995 5152). Para. 1bis — Inserted by No I of the O of 25 Oct. 1995 (AS 1995 5152). Amended by No I of the O of 21 May 2008, in force since 1 July 2008 (AS 2008 2427).
Art. 5 Information
1 The Arbitration Commission shall publish its decisions of fundamental importance in official or non-official organs that provide information on administrative justice. 2 It may publish its decisions in a database on its website.
Art. 5 — Amended by No I of the O of 21 May 2008, in force since 1 July 2008 (AS 2008 2427).
Art. 6 Seat
The Arbitration Commission has its seat in Bern.
Art. 7 Accounting
For the purposes of accounting, the Arbitration Commission is considered an administrative unit of the Department. The Department shall enter the Commission's revenue and expenditure in the budget; the expenditure shall be separated into personnel costs and material costs.
Art. 7 — Amended by No I of the O of 25 Oct. 1995, in force since 1 Jan. 1996 (AS 1995 5152).
Art. 8
Repealed by No I of the O of 25 Oct. 1995, with effect from 1 Jan. 1996 (AS 1995 5152).
Section 2 Procedure
Art. 9 Submission of a request
1 With the request for approval of a tariff, the collective rights management organisations shall submit the necessary documents and a short report on the negotiations with the relevant user associations (Art. 46 para. 2 CopA). 2 Requests for approval of a new tariff must be presented to the Arbitration Commission at least seven months prior to the intended entry into force of the tariff. In justified cases, the chair may derogate from this time limit. 3 If the negotiations have not been carried out with the required diligence, the chair may return the documents and set another time limit.
Art. 10 Initiation of the procedure
1 Based on Article 57 CopA, the chair shall initiate the approval procedure by appointing the members of the Arbitration Board and issuing them with copies of the submissions with annexes and other documents if necessary. 2 The chair shall send the request for approval of a tariff to the relevant user associations participating in the negotiations with the collective rights management organisations and set an appropriate time limit for them to comment in writing. 3 If it is clear from the request for approval that the negotiations with the relevant user associations (Art. 46 para. 2 CopA) have resulted in an agreement, it is not necessary for the associations to comment.
Art. 11 Decisions by circulation
Decisions are made by circulation provided that the relevant associations of users have agreed to the tariff and if no member of the Arbitration Board has submitted a request to convene a meeting; interim decisions are made by circulation.
Art. 11 — Amended by No I of the O of 25 Oct. 1995, in force since 1 Jan. 1996 (AS 1995 5152).
Art. 12 Convening a meeting
1 The chair shall determine the date of the meeting, convene the members of the Arbitration Board and notify the collective rights management organisations and user associations involved in the procedure in a timely manner. 2 The meetings generally take place at the seat of the Arbitration Commission (Art. 6).
Art. 13 Hearing
The parties involved have the right to a hearing.
Art. 14 Deliberation
1 If the hearing does not result in an agreement among the parties, the Arbitration Board shall immediately begin its deliberation. 2 The deliberation and the subsequent vote shall take place in the absence of the parties. 3 In the event of a tied vote, the chair shall have the casting vote.
Art. 15 Adjustment of the tariff proposal
1 If the Arbitration Board finds that a tariff or individual provisions of a tariff cannot be approved, it shall give the collective rights management organisation the opportunity to amend its tariff proposal before a decision is made so that it may be approved. 2 If the collective rights management organisation does not use this opportunity, the Arbitration Board may make the necessary modifications itself (Art. 59 para. 2 CopA).
Art. 16 Notification of the decision
1 The chair shall give notice of the decision following the deliberation, orally or in the form of written conclusions. 2 The chair shall independently examine and approve the written statement of reasons; if the wording raises questions, it may be presented to the other members of the Arbitration Board by circulation. 3 The period within which an appeal may be filed begins with the service of the reasoned written decision. 4 The members of the Arbitration Board and the legal secretary shall be named in the decision; it shall be signed by the chair and the legal secretary.
Para. 1 — Amended by No I of the O of 25 Oct. 1995, in force since 1 Jan. 1996 (AS 1995 5152). Para. 2 — Amended by No I of the O of 25 Oct. 1995, in force since 1 Jan. 1996 (AS 1995 5152). Para. 3 — Amended by No I of the O of 25 Oct. 1995, in force since 1 Jan. 1996 (AS 1995 5152).
Section 3 Fees
Inserted by No I of the O of 21 May 2008, in force since 1 July 2008 (AS 2008 2427).
Art. 16a Fees and expenses
1 The fees for the examination and approval of the collective rights management organisations’ tariffs (Art. 55–60 CopA) are governed mutatis mutandis by Articles 1 letter a, 2 and 14–18 of the Ordinance of 10 September 1969 on Fees and Costs in Administrative Procedures. 2 The expenses of the Arbitration Commission shall be invoiced separately. The following are considered expenses: a. daily allowances and remuneration; b. costs of gathering evidence, scientific investigations, special examinations and obtaining necessary information and documents; c. costs of work which the Arbitration Commission commissions third parties to carry out; d. transmission and communication costs.
Para. 1 — SR 172.041.0
Art. 16b Payment obligation
1 The collective rights management organisation submitting the tariff for approval must pay the fees and expenses. 2 If two or more collective rights management organisations are obliged to pay the same costs, they are jointly and severally liable. 3 In justified cases, the Arbitration Commission may impose part of the costs on the user associations involved in the proceedings.
Art. 16c Due date
The fees and expenses become due with the service of the reasoned written decision.
Art. 16d Applicability of the General Fees Ordinance
In the absence of any specific provision in this Ordinance, the provisions of the General Fees Ordinance of 8 September 2004 apply.
SR 172.041.1