Copyright
Swiss copyright law protects content on the internet if there is an individual intellectual creation. This includes photos, videos, music, texts, etc. Such content may not be distributed publicly without the consent of the author. Only use for personal use is permitted, but if you use someone else’s image for your website – it is considered public – for example, you may be infringing the photographer’s copyright and thus acting illegally. There are lawyers and picture agencies that systematically search for illegally used pictures and issue warnings to the website operator and demand compensation for damages. The Observer reported on such cases.
In order to be able to legally use pictures, videos and so on on the website, you either have to buy the licence for them or look for pictures that are explicitly allowed to be used free of charge. If you want to be completely safe, use your own photos. Regardless of where you take the videos, texts, images and sounds from, you must give credit to the source.
In the case of pictures showing people, you must respect the right to one’s own image.
New copyright law Every photo is protected
must be observed. For example, if you take pictures of members for your association’s website, you must have their consent. It is advisable to obtain this consent in writing for reasons of proof. It is important to know that any consent, even written consent, can be revoked at any time without special justification.
Legal notice obligation
There is no general obligation to provide an imprint in Switzerland. However, websites that offer products or services are subject to the Federal Act against Unfair Competition and thus also to the imprint obligation. In the interest of transparency, the Beobachter legal advisor Daniel Leiser advises non-commercial websites such as blogs to have an imprint. This increases the seriousness of the site and the trust of users. If you do not want to give your own home address, you can keep a post office box for this purpose.
The imprint does not necessarily have to be marked “Impressum”, but it must always be easy to find, for example in the footer, and contain the following points:
- First name and surname or, in the case of a company website, the company name.
- Postal address of the place of residence or company headquarters
- E-mail address
As an e-commerce operator, you must follow three other points from the Unfair Competition Act (UWG):
- You must point out on the website the individual steps leading to the conclusion of a contract.
- You must provide users with the technical means to identify and correct input errors before placing the order.
- You must confirm the order to the customer electronically without delay.
In addition, you must observe the “button” solution. The order button must comply with the exact provisions of the Price Disclosure Ordinance. Either you note the price directly on the order button or you indicate the price in the immediate vicinity of the order button. Permissible and impermissible examples of “button” solutions can be found here – compiled by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs