An Introduction to Swiss Copyright Law

From Textbooks to the Street

By Rinnah Anosike

On April Fool’s day in 2020 the Swiss art market was met with substantive reforms to the Federal Copyright Act 1992 ("CopA")[1]. While intellectual property activists revel in its long-awaited, radical provisions--which finally repeal decades of inconsistency between the image market and copyright law--the new legislation is still short of a ‘copyright 2.0’ breakthrough.[2] Nonetheless, for visual artists, the significant developments offer a more efficient enforcement of their rights when dealing with online infringement, among other issues.[3]

To preface: CopA is the principal source of national law relating to copyrights and copyright litigation.[4] In Switzerland, copyright vests automatically in the creator; creators do not need to register their copyright to benefit from protection. Artistic works qualify for protection under CopA as long as they are creations of the mind that possess an "individual character" (excluding ideas and thoughts), irrespective of their financial value or utilitarian purpose.[5]