FAQ - AGICOA Switzerland – AGICOA Switzerland

What management fee does AGICOA derive from royalty payments?

AGICOA applies two different management fees depending on the type of mandate you have given us. For broadcast year 2023, AGICOA’s fee was set at 8.12% for the General Mandate [Refer to the FAQ “What is a General Mandate and Voluntary Mandate? What is the difference?“] and at 10% for the Voluntary Mandate [Refer to the FAQ “What is a General Mandate and Voluntary Mandate? What is the difference?”].

AGICOA’s management fee is reviewed and approved each year by AGICOA’s General Assembly. These fees are deducted from the total amounts of royalties put into distribution, before payment to the rightsholders.

What is the payment timeframe of the royalties?

The royalties are typically paid during the year following the end of the broadcasting year. For example, if a work was broadcast in 2021, AGICOA will pay you in 2022. This timeframe may vary from country to country.

Is registration free?

The registration with AGICOA is free. Only management fees will be deducted from your due royalties [Refer to the FAQ: What management fee does AGICOA derive from royalty payments? ].

In which countries does AGICOA collect royalties?

AGICOA operates worldwide [Refer to Collection Process page]. Once you register your works with us, we shall claim your royalties in every country where AGICOA, the AGICOA Alliance or other partner organizations have concluded license agreements. One single registration can ensure worldwide coverage. Check here where AGICOA operates to represent you and defend your rights.

If I register at AGICOA this year, can I receive the royalties for previous years?

As a rule, you are entitled to claim royalties within three years following the broadcast of your works. In other words, you must register and then declare your works with AGICOA within three years until 31 December of the broadcasting year of your works in order to be entitled to payment.

For example, to benefit from royalties collected for a given broadcast year (e.g. 2020) your declaration should be made prior to the end of the third year following this broadcast year (e.g. before 31 December 2023).

Do I need to register with a collective management company?

In countries where collective management is not mandatory, you can manage your rights individually. However, this process is often complex. Collective management organizations [Read our blog article: “What is collective management?“] like AGICOA enable rightsholders to easily receive royalties’ payments. In those countries where collective management is mandatory, typically within the European Union, AGICOA shall be deemed to represent you.

What happens if someone has already declared the same audiovisual work?

In the event of conflicting declarations in respect of the same audiovisual work, you will receive a conflict notification and AGICOA shall initiate a conflict resolution procedure.

Does AGICOA collect from on-demand and streaming platforms?

AGICOA does not collect from on-demand and streaming platforms such a YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc.

Which digital services does AGICOA pay?

According to the mandate [Refer to FAQ : What is a General Mandate and Voluntary Mandate? What is the difference? ] you have granted, AGICOA will pay you the royalties collected for the digital services offered by the operators. These digital services consist mainly of on-demand media services such as catch-up services and other time-shifted viewing services (Start from the beginning, Pause and resume, Digital video recorder services, …).

What is a General Mandate and Voluntary Mandate? What is the difference?

The General Mandate is mandatory. It means that the rightsholder exclusively authorizes AGICOA to grant or refuse licenses and to collect royalties for the following exploitation of the audiovisual works that fall under AGICOA’s repertoire, included in television programs intended for the reception by the public:

– Simultaneous, full, unchanged, and continuous retransmission by cable, satellite or by any similar means.
– The intervention by satellite package providers, cable distribution platforms or other comparable distribution platforms in public communication.
– Communication to the public by hotels, hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, and other institutions.
– Recording for (non-commercial) educational purposes by educational institutions in specific countries as approved from time to time by AGICOA’s Administrative Board.

The Voluntary Mandates are the mandates you may grant to AGICOA on a discretionary basis to license and collect royalties for the following use of the audiovisual works that falls under AGICOA’s repertoire, included in television programs as part of following media services offered by the operators:

– Time-shifted viewing services such as Catch-up TV, TV Start from the beginning, Pause and Resume, Preview TV, Network personal video recorder.
– In-home or out-of-home linear services such as In-Home services on any devices, Set Top Box to Set Top Box streaming, TV Everywhere. Note that further to adoption of

EU Directive 2019/789 (“CabSat 2”), these services will fall under AGICOA’s General Mandate as soon as the EU Member States will have transposed the Directive.

The Voluntary Mandates may also include communication in public areas (e.g. bars and cafés) of the audiovisual works included in television programs.

There is no limitation as to the number of Voluntary Mandates that you might wish to grant to AGICOA.

What are retransmission rights?

Retransmission rights are those rights that arise when an operator makes a secondary use [Refer to FAQ “What is the difference between the primary rights and the secondary rights of the producer?] of an audiovisual work. They cover the simultaneous, full, unchanged and continuous retransmission by cable, satellite or by any similar means (such as mobile retransmission or retransmission over an internet access carried out in a managed environment). In the European Union, these rights are subject to mandatory collective management [Read our blog article: “What is collective management?“].
AGICOA also manages the rights covering intervention by satellite package providers, cable distribution platforms or other comparable distribution platforms in the communication to the public. In the European Union, these rights may be subject to mandatory collective management [Read our blog article: “What is collective management?“] according to the applicable local legislation.

What is the difference between the primary rights and the secondary rights of the producer?

The producer’s primary rights to an audiovisual work are the rights that a broadcasting organization must acquire from the producer to be able to include his/her audiovisual work in the programs of one or another of its TV channels made available to the public in one or another country.

The producer’s secondary rights to an audiovisual work are the rights that an operator must acquire from the producer to distribute to the public the TV channels of the broadcasting organization that includes the audiovisual work in question. AGICOA will manage [Read our blog article: “What is collective management?“] these rights on behalf of the producer, from licensing them to the operators, to collecting the corresponding royalties from them and then paying the producer.

Does AGICOA license music rights?

No, AGICOA does not license music rights. AGICOA licenses the use of audiovisual works only.

How do I access my online registration and declarations?

Your details as well as the audiovisual works you have declared with AGICOA are available online on our Declarant Portal IRRIS Web.

How should I register with AGICOA?

Please return to following documents to AGICOA via the Contact page:

Completed and signed Declarant Registration Form
Copy of bank account statement listing beneficiary name and account number (IBAN, SWIFT/BIC or other), in addition to the bank name (financial transaction information can be redacted).
Copy of an official identification document for each contact person.
Copy of the register of commerce (for businesses only).

You can find more information here.

What is the deadline to declare my audiovisual works and rights with AGICOA?

You can declare your audiovisual works and rights with AGICOA at any time.

Keep in mind however that to be processed in the first distribution, works and rights must be declared by 31 December of the broadcasting year for which the royalties were collected.

If you have not declared your works and rights by 31 December of the broadcasting year for which the royalties were collected, you will still be entitled to payment of royalties as long as you have made the declaration within a deadline of three years following 31 December of the broadcasting year for which the royalties were collected. Royalties will be lost if you miss the three-year deadline.

For example, to benefit from royalties collected for a given broadcast year (e.g. 2020) your declaration should be made prior to the end of the third year following this broadcast year (e.g. before 31 December 2023).

How can I declare my works and rights with AGICOA?

AGICOA has developed four declaration modes. You may select the most appropriate to your environment and needs for the declarations and the updates of your rights on works.

Web declarant portal – IRRIS Web, the web-based platform that provides you with a single access point portal to declare, update and/or query your works and rights as well as to review your related remunerations over the web;
Electronic declaration files in Excel to import works and rights information between your Company’s database and AGICOA’s to declare your works and rights;
Electronic declaration files in XML to import works and rights information between your Company’s database and AGICOA’s to declare and/or to update your works and rights;
Declaration forms in PDF that you will fill in from your computer and send back to AGICOA.

Your Portfolio Manager will guide you to choose the most suitable declaration mode for you.

You can find more information here.

If I am receiving royalties through a collective management organization in my home country, can I still register my company with AGICOA?

If you receive royalties from another Collective Management Organization for use in your home country only, you can still register with AGICOA. We shall then collect royalties in all other countries [Refer to Collection Process page].

As a broadcaster, can I register with AGICOA?

Broadcasters are entitled to register with AGICOA as producers of audiovisual works. However, broadcasters are not entitled to claim royalties for the transmission of their works on their own TV channel(s).

You can find more information in this blog article.

What types of works can I declare with AGICOA?

AGICOA’s repertoire covers any audiovisual content subject to copyright protection, such as feature films, telefilms, series, documentaries, short films, animation, game shows, reality shows. However, it does not include news programs (including sports news), live sportscasts and other live events, teleshopping, weather forecasts, infomercials, commercials, and trailers.

Which TV channels does AGICOA monitor to calculate my royalties?

AGICOA monitors about 283 TV channels. The list of “TV channels used for royalty allocations” is available only to Declarants on Web Declarant portal – IRRIS Web.

My works are only transmitted online. Can I still declare my works with AGICOA?

AGICOA collects only (re)transmission rights [Refer to FAQ “What are retransmission rights?”] and the audiovisual media services rights that are linked to it. If your work is only transmitted, either via a TV channel’s own website or via on-demand and streaming platforms such as YouTube or Netflix, AGICOA will collect no royalty for you.

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