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The agreement between Switzerland and the European Union on Switzerland’s participation in the MEDIA Plus and MEDIA Formation programmes came into force on 1 April 2006. The agreement was concluded on 26 October 2004 during the second round of bilateral negotiations on a number of issues, including - in addition to the MEDIA programme - extension of the agreement on the free movement of persons to the European Union’s new Member States, taxation on savings, and combating fraud in indirect taxation (see IRIS 2004-7:6). Switzerland will contribute 7.9 million Swiss francs per year to the cost of...

The Swiss Federal Council has published the Bill that will revise part of Swiss national legislation on copyright and related rights. The purpose of the Bill is to enable Switzerland to ratify the “Internet treaties” of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) - the copyright treaty (WCT) and the performances and phonograms treaty (WPPT). This means that the new provisions will transpose into Swiss national law the standards of protection required by these treaties (see IRIS 2005-8: 11). The Bill provides for prohibiting the circumvention of technical means of protection such as electronic...

On 24 March 2006, the Swiss Parliament adopted a new Radio and Television Act, which will ensure that the Schweizerische Rundspruchgesellschaft (SRG) continues to provide a strong public broadcasting service in the future. The Act also relaxed certain restrictions on private broadcasters and strengthened support for local and regional private broadcasters from licence fee revenue (fee sharing). The dual model originally proposed in the draft Radio and Television Act (with SRG on the one hand as a public service broadcaster funded through the licence fee, and private broadcasters in free competition...

The Swiss Federal Council (government) has circulated a preliminary draft revision of the federal Act on copyright and neighbouring rights among the relevant circles for consultation. This revision is intended primarily to adapt copyright law to the new technologies for communication and digital transmission (see IRIS 2004-10: 6). It should also enable Switzerland to ratify the “Internet treaties” drawn up by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) - the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT). By and large, the proposal to ratify the Internet...

The Swiss radio and television company Société Suisse de Radiodiffusion et Télévision - SRG SSR idée suisse (SSR) and six associations in the Swiss cinematographic and audiovisual sector have renewed the Audiovisual Pact for a further three years (from 2006 to 2008). Concluded for the first time in 1996, the Audiovisual Pact is intended to strengthen the collaboration between SSR and the audiovisual industry and to ensure continuity in production (see IRIS 2003-7: 13). In addition, it consolidates the financial support granted to independent producers by the Swiss Confederation under the federal...