What Prolitteris does

ProLitteris (ProLitteris, Schweizerische Genossenschaft für Urheberrechte an Literatur und Kunst) is a Swiss cooperative founded in 1974 and headquartered in Zürich, operating as the official collective copyright management society for literary and visual works in Switzerland and Liechtenstein under the supervision of the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI). The organization collects statutory royalties from businesses, schools, broadcasters, and other users of protected works under approved Common Tariffs (GT 7, GT 8, GT 13), then distributes compensation to approximately 15,000 rights holders—authors, visual artists, photographers, publishers, and heirs of rights holders. In FY2025, it reported revenue of CHF 41.3 million and distributed CHF 36.5 million (88.4% of revenue) after a record-low 13.0% gross administrative expense rate.

The cooperative's product portfolio centers on multi-channel distribution systems: Print (reprography), Online (text and image use on the internet, ~CHF 10M annually), Broadcast (radio and TV, including public broadcaster SRG SSR), and the upcoming Expo distribution for publicly exhibited visual works. It additionally offers Art licensing (reproduction rights for artworks in its repertoire), Audio management for broadcasting texts, tariff negotiation services, and Extended Collective Licenses for uses that cannot be managed individually—including internal AI processing and orphan works. In 2026, ProLitteris launched MyCopyright, a digital service for depositing, sealing, and timestamping creative files for evidentiary purposes, developed with Swiss Trust Layer AG and Swisscom Trust Services under Swiss ZertES qualified electronic signatures.

The business model is non-profit: members register works, the cooperative collects payments via tariff-based and individually negotiated licenses, deducts administrative costs (13.0% gross, a record low), and distributes the remainder to rights holders. Two affiliated foundations—the Fürsorge-Stiftung (Social Welfare Foundation) and Stiftung Kulturfonds (Cultural Foundation)—provide old-age pensions, emergency aid, and cultural grants, including the annual ProLitteris Prize (CHF 40,000 main prize, CHF 10,000 encouragement prize). The organization maintains reciprocal representation agreements with 35+ foreign collective management societies (ARS, DACS, VG Bild-Kunst, ADAGP, KUVASTO, SIAE, JASPAR, etc.), enabling cross-border royalty collection and distribution. It is governed by a member-elected Board of Directors led by Co-Presidents Alexandra Maurer and Thomas Kramer and operated by CEO Philip Kübler with approximately 30 employees.

Name

Prolitteris

Legal name

ProLitteris, Schweizerische Genossenschaft für Urheberrechte an Literatur und Kunst

Website

https://prolitteris.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ProLitteris, founded in 1974, is a Swiss cooperative that manages copyright for literary and visual works, collecting statutory royalties from businesses, schools, and broadcasters and distributing them to approximately 15,000 rights holders in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Collective Copyright Management Services

NAICS

Music Publishers (51223)

SIC

Patent Owners & Lessors (6794)

akta.pro primary industry

Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) & Public Performance Licensing (MPAIAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Global Rights Representation & Sub-Publishing/Reciprocal Collection Services (MPAIAKAI)

Keywords

• Collective copyright management
• Reprography royalty collection
• Statutory licensing tariffs
• Visual arts rights licensing
• Copyright collective society

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Statutory Copying Levies: ProLitteris collects legally mandated compensation fees from organizations, schools, and businesses based on common tariffs (GT 8, GT 7) for the copying and reproduction of protected texts and images. This is the primary revenue stream derived from statutory rights under Swiss copyright law.
2. Broadcasting Rights (SRG SSR and other broadcasters): Revenue from licensing and collecting compensation for the use of texts and images by radio and TV operators, including SRG SSR and other broadcasting companies in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
3. Extended Collective Licensing: Collective licensing for uses that cannot be managed individually, including internal AI usage, orphan works (GT 13), and other scenarios where collective licenses provide legal certainty at moderate cost.
4. Art Reproduction Licensing: Licensing fees for the reproduction of artworks from ProLitteris's repertoire, including tariffs negotiated with professional associations and individual licensing for commercial uses.
5. Online Distribution: Distribution of approximately CHF 10 million annually for texts and images copied and distributed on the internet by schools, libraries, and organizations, based on character count and access metrics.
6. Expo Distribution: New distribution category for publicly exhibited visual works in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, with fixed compensation amounts ranging from CHF 50 to 250 per author, venue, and year of use.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ProLitteris is the official Swiss cooperative (Genossenschaft) that collectively manages copyright for literary and visual art works in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It collects statutory copying levies and licensing fees from organizations, schools, broadcasters, and companies under Common Tariffs (GT 7, GT 8, GT 13), then distributes the proceeds to 15,000+ members (authors, publishers, artists, photographers, heirs). It also licenses art reproductions, runs the MyCopyright digital sealing service, and administers extended collective licenses for AI usage and orphan works.

Product overview

ProLitteris is a Swiss copyright collective society (Genossenschaft) founded in 1974, managing rights for literature and visual arts. The organization operates a multi-product service portfolio centered on collective rights management and compensation distribution. Core offerings include: MyCopyright (digital file certification with timestamping and deposit); distribution systems (Print, Online at ~CHF 10M, Broadcast, and new Expo distribution); Art licensing (reproduction rights for visual artworks); Audio management (text rights for broadcasters); and Tariff Services (legal copy remuneration via Common Tariffs). The cooperative also operates two foundations: the Social Welfare Foundation (Fürsorge-Stiftung) for old-age pensions and emergency aid, and the Cultural Foundation (Stiftung Kulturfonds) for cultural promotion including the annual ProLitteris Prize. Extended Collective Licenses enable legal use of works including AI processing. The organization distributes approximately CHF 36.5M annually in copyright remuneration to 15,000 members, operates with approximately 30 employees, and is supervised by the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MyCopyright: Digital service for timestamping, sealing, and depositing creative files (manuscripts, images, presentations) for evidentiary purposes, developed with Swiss Trust Layer AG.

Products and services

• MyCopyright Digital service for depositing, sealing (digital timestamp), and certifying digital files for evidentiary purposes. Users can upload manuscripts, images, dossiers, presentations, or other digital objects and receive a digital seal with timestamp and optional certificate. Serves to document the existence and ownership of creative files for authors, image creators, publishers, and other rights holders.
• Print Distribution Traditional reprography distribution system that allocates copy remuneration and similar revenues to rights holders. Compensation duration varies by work type: 8 years for books, 4 years for magazines, 1 year for daily and weekly press.
• Online Distribution Distribution system that allocates compensation for texts and images on the Internet copied and disseminated internally by schools, libraries, and organizations. Total distribution amount stabilizes at approximately CHF 10 million. Base compensation of CHF 5 for usage year 2025, with formula adjustments based on character count and access numbers.
• Broadcast Distribution Distribution system for remuneration related to text usage by radio and TV broadcasting organizations (SRG SSR and others). Manages audio exploitation rights and communication network agreements.
• Expo Distribution New distribution category for visual works publicly exhibited in Switzerland or Liechtenstein. Authors and heirs receive compensation when works are displayed by third parties. Fixed compensation of CHF 50-250 per author, venue, and year.
• Art Licensing Licensing service for reproducing artworks from ProLitteris's repertoire. Includes artist directory search via sister societies (VG Bild-Kunst, ADAGP), license request forms, and tariff schedules. License fees vary based on usage type, format, print run, and distribution area.
• Audio Management Management of rights for texts used by radio and TV broadcasters, including SRG SSR remuneration and communication networks (broadcast). Handles licensing and distribution for the audio exploitation sector.
• Tariff Services (Copy Remuneration) Collective tariff management for legal copying remuneration including Common Tariff 8 (GT 8) for organizations and schools, Common Tariff 7, Common Tariff 3a (via SUISA for background music), and Common Tariff 5. Tariff revision underway in 2025-2026.
• Extended Collective Licenses Collective licensing framework for uses that cannot be managed individually, including AI internal uses. Provides legal certainty at moderate cost and covers unknown or unreachable rights holders. Negotiated by ProLitteris on behalf of rights holders.
• Orphan Works Tariff (GT 13) Tariff framework for orphan works (GT 13) where rights holders cannot be identified or located. Provides legal basis for users to reproduce such works with statutory compensation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 13.0% gross administrative expense rate – lowest ever in the society's history
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Swiss Trust Layer AGcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partner for the MyCopyright digital service. Swiss Trust Layer operates technical components including upload, storage, encryption, sealing, timestamping, certificate creation, availability, security, technical support, and further technical development. Qualified electronic signatures are sourced from Swisscom Trust Services.
• VG Bild-Kunst (Germany)coreTechnology or IntegrationGerman sister society directory for artist search. ProLitteris also represents rights of Alberto Giacometti, Erich Heckel, Max Pechstein, and Andy Warhol not listed on VG Bild-Kunst website.
• ADAGP (France)coreTechnology or IntegrationFrench sister society directory for artist search. ProLitteris also represents rights of Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso not listed on ADAGP website.
• SIK-ISEA (Swiss Institute for Art Research)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration agreement to simplify the use of protected visual art works on the internet. Enables searching for artwork images through SIKART online lexicon (www.sikart.ch) with links to ProLitteris. Future plans include digitized template acquisition through SIK-ISEA.
• CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUmbrella organization of collective management societies. ProLitteris participates in CISAC's initiative to create a comprehensive directory of all authors across all rights management sectors (image, text, music, film, etc.) and plans to launch its own online search directory.
• SRG SSRcoreOthersSwitzerland's public broadcasting corporation, the primary licensee in the broadcasting sector. ProLitteris collects and distributes compensation for texts and images used by SRG SSR under negotiated tariffs and communication network agreements.
• 35+ Foreign Collective Management SocietiescoreTechnology or IntegrationReciprocal representation agreements with foreign societies for visual arts rights: SAVA (Argentina), Copyright Agency (Australia/NZ), SABAM/SOFAM (Belgium), AUTVIS (Brazil), CREAIMAGEN (Chile), Visda (Denmark), EAÜ (Estonia), KUVASTO (Finland), SAIF (France), DACS (UK), PICTORIGHT (Netherlands), IVARO (Ireland), SIAE (Italy), JASPAR (Japan), CARCC/COVA-DAAV (Canada), SACK (Korea), LAA (Latvia), LATGA-A (Lithuania), SOMAAP (Mexico), BONO (Norway), BILDRECHT (Austria), APSAV (Peru), SPA (Portugal), Bildupphovsrätt (Sweden), LITA (Slovakia), VEGAP (Spain), DALRO (South Africa), OOA-S (Czech Republic), HUNGART (Hungary), AGADU (Uruguay), ARS (USA).
• Swisscom Trust ServicescoreTechnology or IntegrationProvider of qualified electronic signatures under Swiss Federal Act on Electronic Signatures (ZertES) for the MyCopyright service operated by Swiss Trust Layer AG.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• VG Bild-Kunst: German collective management society for visual arts and photography rights. ProLitteris explicitly cross-references VG Bild-Kunst's artist directory and has reciprocal representation agreements - directly comparable in function, scope, and statutory structure.
• Bildrecht: Austrian visual arts rights management organization. Direct regional peer operating in a similar DACH regulatory environment with comparable statutory role and member-based cooperative structure.
• ADAGP: French collective rights management society for visual arts (authors, photographers, illustrators). Directly comparable to ProLitteris with cross-referenced artist directories and reciprocal representation agreements for managing visual arts rights.
• SIAE: Italian Society of Authors and Publishers (Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori). Direct peer in the reciprocal network - though broader in scope (music, drama, visual arts), it is a fellow Italian member of the collective rights management ecosystem.
• PICTORIGHT: Dutch collective rights organization for visual creators and photographers. Direct peer in the ProLitteris reciprocal network, managing reproduction rights and licensing for Netherlands-based visual artists.
• ARS - American Rights Society: American Society of Authors, Composers, and Publishers (visual arts division). US counterpart that ProLitteris works with through reciprocal representation for US visual artists' rights.
• DACS: Design and Artists Copyright Society in the UK. Comparable visual arts rights management organization with similar functions: licensing reproductions, paying royalties to visual artists, and operating as a statutory collective.
• VEGAP: Spanish collective management society for visual arts creators. Part of ProLitteris's reciprocal network and operates the same rights management function for visual artists in Spain.

Regional players

• SUISA: Swiss cooperative for music copyright and neighboring rights. Operates in Switzerland (same country) but for music rights rather than text/image - comparable in cooperative structure, statutory mandate, and IPI supervision, but addresses different content categories.

Others

• CISAC: International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers - the umbrella organization of collective management societies globally. ProLitteris participates in CISAC's author directory initiative and is part of its governance framework, making it an ecosystem enabler rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/prolitteris

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Prolitteris