SSA at a glance
SSA is a cooperative society of authors in the dramatic, dramatico-musical, choreographic, audiovisual and multimedia sectors. It protects its members’ economic rightsEntirety of legal provisions relating to the author's right to exploit a work financially subject to copyrightEntirety of legal provisions attributing the author of a work moral and proprietary privileges. in Switzerland and Liechtenstein and ensures that their moral rightsEntirety of legal provisions for the protection of the personal aspects of authorship: Naming right (paternity right), right of first publication, right to the integrity of the work are respected accordingly. It liaises between users and authors and offers support in situations requiring individual contracts. It sees to contracts being entered into in a legitimate and fair manner.
SSA manages performing rights, broadcasting rights, other public performance rights as well as reproduction rights assigned to it by its authors. It also fulfils the duties assigned by law to collective management organisationsThere are five collective management organisations (CMOs) in Switzerland for authors' and related rights: ProLitteris, SSA, Suissimage, SUISA, SWISSPERFORM under the scope of the so-called mandatory collective managementPursuant to copyright law, the following rights are subject to mandatory management by a collective management organisation: retransmission, private copy, public reception, reprography, rental, educational use, usage including reproduction/copying for internal information/documentation purposes at the workplace. These are areas of usage where the legislator assumes that it is sensible or in fact possible at all that individual authors pursue the....
It is the main task of SSA to collect the remuneration which becomes due each time its members’ works are used and to subsequently forward them to the rights owners. Moreover, SSA also promotes its members’ interests in all areas which are relevant from 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. usage aspect, and is represented in the relevant national and international organisations.
SSA has an authorisation for the rights administration of dramatic, dramatico-musical and choreographic works from the Swiss Federal Institute for Intellectual Property, (IPISwiss Federal Institute for Intellectual Property - regulatory body for collective management organisations in the field of copyright and related rights in Switzerland).
Members: 3’971
Revenue: CHF 27.802m
Staff: 23 people (i.e. 18.2 full-time positions)
(numbers as of 2023)
As a cooperative, SSA is non-profit making. It is financed by a commission taken from the rights remuneration collected.
SSA has a cultural fund, a solidarity fund supporting members going through a difficult financial patch and a pension fund for its members. Read more
In Switzerland, SSA cooperates with Suissimage, SUISA, ProLitteris and Swissperform.
In order to be able to administer its members’ rights abroad, SSA has concluded contracts governing the reciprocal management of rights with foreign authors’ societies who are active in the same sector. In turn, SSA represents the members of those foreign societies in Switzerland.
SSA is linked with the Common Information System (CIS) of CISAC which serves the worldwide information exchange between collective management organisationsThere are five collective management organisations (CMOs) in Switzerland for authors' and related rights: ProLitteris, SSA, Suissimage, SUISA, SWISSPERFORM.
SSA was founded by playwrights and film makers in Geneva on 30 November 1985. They had previously been members of the Swiss section of the French society SACDSociété des auteurs et compositeurs dramatiques – French authors' society; the first of its kind (founded in 1777) and deemed it necessary to create an independent Swiss organisation.
SSA began its activities on 1 January 1986. From the very beginning, it represented the repertoireEntirety of works of a certain administration category of the French, Belgian and Canadian sections of SACDSociété des auteurs et compositeurs dramatiques – French authors' society; the first of its kind (founded in 1777). SSA gradually concluded contracts with further foreign sister societies.
In 1990, SSA changed its headquarters from Geneva to Lausanne.
In 1997, SSA created a pension fund for its members.
In 1998, SSA and Suissimage signed a convention governing the administration of audiovisual rights in Switzerland.