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Join us

In order to benefit from our services, you need to become a member of SSA (full member or mandator). Membership at SSA is free of charge.

Terms of admission

• You create or own rights to works falling under the SSA repertoire.
• Your workIntellectual property creation in literature and art (as well as computer programmes) exhibiting an individual and therefore unique character. Said individual character is the prerequisite that a work can be protected. is being performed, broadcast or used in any other relevant forms of exploitation.
• You have not already assigned the rights to your work(s) to third parties (publishers, theatres, theatre groups, producers or another collective management organisationThere are five collective management organisations (CMOs) in Switzerland for authors' and related rights: ProLitteris, SSA, Suissimage, SUISA, SWISSPERFORM).
• SSA communicates in the official Swiss languages. We make every effort to facilitate direct contacts in English, too. Our circulars, guidelines, publications, annual reports, documents relating to the General Assembly etc. are, however, not available in English.
• In order to assess the requests for admission, we will request you to provide us with contracts you already concluded plus their translations into German, French or Italian. Production, publishing or licensing agreements must make it possible for SSA to intervene, i.e. they must include a so-called rights reservation clauseContractual provision, which stipulates - particularly for users of audiovisual works - that specific rights are exclusively administered by the collective management organisation the author is a member of.; in all likelihood, this will, however, only be the case if the contract has been signed in countries where one of SSA’s sister societies is operational. Please click on our guidelines for stage productions and for audiovisual productions.
• SSA is entitled to ask for certified translations.

Please contact us to request the application documents; having personal contacts with our authors is of great value to us.

You can find out about the most important documents here. In order to join SSA, you need to sign the documents in question, and send them to us together with a copy of a valid form of ID (passport, ID card) by post.

If you are resident abroad for tax purposes, please read our checklist on withholding tax on this page.

So that we can process your application, we need the following details from you:

• Are you already a member of a collective management organisationThere are five collective management organisations (CMOs) in Switzerland for authors' and related rights: ProLitteris, SSA, Suissimage, SUISA, SWISSPERFORM and if so, which?

For authors of audiovisual works:

• Have you contributed to a finished film (cinema, TV or internet)?
  – If not, are you in discussion with a production company regarding an authors’ agreement to be concluded for a screenplay, scriptOriginal work or adaptation of an existing work to be used as the basis for making a film. or a director’s workIntellectual property creation in literature and art (as well as computer programmes) exhibiting an individual and therefore unique character. Said individual character is the prerequisite that a work can be protected.?
  – If not, are you studying at film school?

For authors of audio works (radio or internet & podcast):

• Have you contributed to a finished audio workIntellectual property creation in literature and art (as well as computer programmes) exhibiting an individual and therefore unique character. Said individual character is the prerequisite that a work can be protected. (fiction, including sketches)?
  – If not, are you in discussion with a producer regarding an authors’ agreement to be concluded?

For authors in the stage arts sector:

• Have you (co)written or (co)created a workIntellectual property creation in literature and art (as well as computer programmes) exhibiting an individual and therefore unique character. Said individual character is the prerequisite that a work can be protected. or which falls under the SSA repertoireEntirety of works of a certain administration category (texts for theatre or stage, choreography, mime, comedy, circus, street performance, improvisationImprovisations are protected provided that they have the nature of a work., dramatico-musical work…)?
• Is this workIntellectual property creation in literature and art (as well as computer programmes) exhibiting an individual and therefore unique character. Said individual character is the prerequisite that a work can be protected. going to be performed in the near future?
  – If yes, do you have a confirmation that a theatre or an event organiser is prepared to pay your remuneration?