Communication and Attribution Charter

Reference note

The Claude Nobs Collection of the Montreux Jazz Festival (1967-2013) brings together the recordings of more than 4,000 concerts performed at the Festival, from its creation in 1967 to the 2013 edition. Claude Nobs, the Festival’s founder, was its artistic director until his death in January 2013. Montreux Sounds SA, his production company, holds the producer’s rights in these recordings, together with RTS Radio Télévision Suisse for the editions up to 1986 and with the Montreux Jazz Festival Foundation for the 2013 edition. The recordings of the 1967 to 2012 editions have been inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register since 2013. The Claude Nobs Foundation, owner of the original media, preserves them with EPFL as part of the Montreux Jazz Digital Project.

To be reproduced as is.

Purpose

This charter sets out the rules on mentions, credits and attribution that apply to the Claude Nobs Collection of the Montreux Jazz Festival and to the story attached to it. It is addressed to every reader: media, publishers, platforms, institutions, partners and researchers. Each section states which entity is responsible.

1. The Collection and its rights holders

Responsibility: Montreux Sounds SA and the Claude Nobs Foundation. The rights of RTS and of the Montreux Jazz Festival Foundation are recalled for information.

1.1The Claude Nobs Collection of the Montreux Jazz Festival (1967-2013) brings together the audio and audiovisual recordings of the Festival’s concerts, from its creation in 1967 to the 2013 edition.

1.2The producer’s rights in these recordings, within the meaning of Article 36 of the Swiss Federal Act on Copyright and Related Rights, are allocated as follows:

1.3This allocation results from the instruments concluded between the rights holders, in particular the acquisition by Montreux Sounds SA, in 1995, of the Montreux Tourist Office’s rights in its recordings of the Festival, the agreement of 24 June 2019 between the Montreux Jazz Festival Foundation and Montreux Sounds SA, and the agreement of 21 February 2022 concluded with RTS.

1.4The Claude Nobs Foundation owns the original media of Montreux Sounds SA’s recordings of the 1967 to 2012 editions, which Montreux Sounds SA donated to it in 2016, together with their digitised copies. It owns those of the 2013 edition jointly with the Montreux Jazz Festival Foundation. Media belonging to third parties, in particular RTS, remain their property.

1.5The producer’s rights do not include the rights of authors and composers, nor those of performers, their record labels and their publishers. Montreux Sounds SA does not hold these rights: the consent of their holders is required for any use, commercial or not.

1.6Licensees of Montreux Sounds SA use the recordings under their licence. A licence, whether exclusive or not, does not transfer ownership of the rights.

2. Recording credits

Responsibility: Montreux Sounds SA. These credits are those agreed between the rights holders.

2.1Any use of a recording carries the credit line for its period:

2.2The line may be preceded by a description of the recording, for example: “[Artist] performing [song], [year of concert] Montreux Sounds”. On a phonogram, it is preceded by the ℗ symbol.

2.3These credits apply to every medium: physical releases, platforms and metadata, thumbnails, online titles and descriptions, end credits, booklets and press kits. They are legible and of a size comparable to the other mentions. Online, they mention the rights holder’s website: montreuxsounds.com, rts.ch or montreuxjazzfestival.com. Licensees and partners also apply the logos and mentions provided for in their contracts.

2.4A recording that has been regularly released or broadcast is not presented as unreleased or exclusive, unless a licence specifies that status.

3. Names and designations

Responsibility: Montreux Sounds SA and the Claude Nobs Foundation.

3.1The two collections bear the following names: “the Claude Nobs Collection of the Montreux Jazz Festival (1967-2013)” and “the Montreux Jazz Festival Collection (2014 editions onwards)”. The 2013 edition is the last of the Claude Nobs Collection; its producer’s rights are shared equally with the Montreux Jazz Festival Foundation.

3.2Generic designations such as “the Montreux Jazz Festival archives”, “the Festival’s collection” or “the MJF Collection” identify neither the collection concerned nor its rights holders. They are replaced by the names above.

3.3An entity that is neither the holder nor a joint holder of a collection does not present it as its own, for example as “our collection” or “our archives”.

3.4Each party is designated by its role: Montreux Sounds SA, holder of the producer’s rights; the Claude Nobs Foundation, owner of the original media and responsible for preserving the Collection; RTS, holder of the rights in the editions up to 1986, alone or with Montreux Sounds SA; EPFL, scientific partner of the Montreux Jazz Digital Project; the Montreux Jazz Festival Foundation, organiser of the Festival since 1996 and holder of the Montreux Jazz Festival Collection.

4. Claude Nobs

Responsibility: the Claude Nobs Foundation for attribution to Claude Nobs; Claude Nobs’ universal legatee for his name, image, voice and writings; Montreux Sounds SA for the “Claude Nobs” trademark.

4.1Claude Nobs conceived and created the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1967, which he co-founded with Géo Voumard and René Langel. He was its artistic director for 46 editions, until his death in January 2013, a role he exercised through Montreux Sounds SA from the time of its foundation: he set the programme, personally invited the artists, saw to their welcome and carried the Festival’s reputation in Switzerland and abroad. Organised until 1995 within the Montreux Tourist Office (Office du Tourisme de Montreux), the Festival has been organised since 1996 by the Montreux Jazz Festival Foundation, which Claude Nobs established alone, by deed of 15 January 1996.

4.2From the first editions, the concerts were filmed with RTS. From 1969, Claude Nobs had every concert recorded and offered the tapes to the artists and their labels: the live albums recorded at Montreux in the 1970s were born of this system, conceived, financed and operated by him, then by Montreux Sounds SA from 1974; these albums belong to their labels. With Montreux Sounds SA, he then directed the release of many concerts, on record and later on video. The rights in the Collection’s recordings are described in section 1.

4.3As the UNESCO nomination file records: “The creation of the archive began in 1988. Claude Nobs and his partner Thierry Amsallem sought, recovered and regrouped all the recorded material of that time.”

4.4Acts from the period when Claude Nobs directed the Festival are attributed to him, in particular invitations, programming, the welcoming of artists and the encounters between them. Write, for example, “under the artistic direction of Claude Nobs, the Festival welcomed Nina Simone on several occasions”, rather than “the Festival welcomed Nina Simone”.

4.5Any reference to the 1967-2013 period cites Claude Nobs and, as the case may be, the Montreux Tourist Office, Montreux Sounds SA and RTS.

4.6Events prior to 1996 remain attached to Claude Nobs and the Montreux Tourist Office. This is the case of the fire at the Montreux Casino on 4 December 1971, during Frank Zappa’s concert, which inspired Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” and the figure of “Funky Claude”.

4.7The name “Claude Nobs” is a trademark of Montreux Sounds SA. The copyright in Claude Nobs’ writings has passed to his universal legatee, Thierry Amsallem. His image and voice appear in recordings whose rights are described in section 1. Using his name, image, voice, signature or writings to promote a product, a service, a venue or a brand requires the prior consent of his universal legatee and of the rights holders concerned.

4.8Quotations from Claude Nobs are reproduced exactly and with their source. Their use for promotional or commercial purposes requires the same consent.

5. Trademarks

Responsibility: Montreux Sounds SA. The trademark of the Montreux Jazz Festival Foundation is recalled for information.

5.1“Claude Nobs” and “Funky Claude” are trademarks of Montreux Sounds SA. Their commercial use requires a written licence from Montreux Sounds SA.

5.2“Montreux Jazz Festival” is a trademark of the Montreux Jazz Festival Foundation. It designates the Festival and confers no rights in the recordings of the Collection.

5.3The logos of Montreux Sounds SA and of the Claude Nobs Foundation are reproduced only in their official versions and with the consent of the entity concerned.

6. The Claude Nobs Chalets

Responsibility: Claude Nobs Estate; Montreux Sounds SA for hospitality.

6.1The Claude Nobs Chalets, in Caux, are the home where Claude Nobs welcomed the Festival’s artists for more than forty years. They are private property. Their names, including “Claude Nobs Chalets”, “Chalets de Caux” and “Le Picotin”, images of the premises and the story of the welcomes held there fall within this charter.

6.2Any welcome recounted at the Chalets is attributed to Claude Nobs. Use of the name, image or story of the Chalets for promotional or commercial purposes requires prior written authorisation.

7. Inscription on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register

Responsibility: the Claude Nobs Foundation.

7.1The recordings of the 1967 to 2012 editions of the Collection have been inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register since 18 June 2013 (nomination 2012-15, Switzerland), under the title “The Montreux Jazz Festival: Claude Nobs’ Legacy”. The nomination file names the Claude Nobs Foundation as responsible for preserving this heritage. UNESCO entry: unesco.org/en/memory-world/montreux-jazz-festival-claude-nobs-legacy.

7.2Any mention of the inscription cites the Claude Nobs Foundation, for example: “inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2013, preserved by the Claude Nobs Foundation with EPFL”.

7.3The inscription concerns the Collection, not the Festival as an institution. It is distinct both from the UNESCO World Heritage List, a separate programme, and from the designation of Montreux as a UNESCO Creative City of Music (2023), which concerns the City of Montreux. The correct wording is “UNESCO Memory of the World Register” and, in French, “Registre Mémoire du Monde de l’UNESCO”.

7.4Use of the inscription for promotional or commercial purposes requires the consent of the Claude Nobs Foundation. Commercial use of UNESCO’s name and logo is prohibited without UNESCO’s express authorisation.

8. Montreux Jazz Digital Project

Responsibility: the Claude Nobs Foundation, with EPFL.

8.1The Montreux Jazz Digital Project (MJDP) was launched in 2007 by Claude Nobs, Thierry Amsallem and Professor Patrick Aebischer, then President of EPFL. It ensures the digitisation, preservation and scientific enhancement of the Collection. It was conducted with EPFL by Montreux Sounds SA, then by the Claude Nobs Foundation. The Montreux Jazz Festival Foundation has been a party to the partnership since 2024.

8.2Any mention of the MJDP follows this chronology and cites the Claude Nobs Foundation and EPFL.

9. Uses and licences

Responsibility: Montreux Sounds SA and the Claude Nobs Foundation.

9.1Information is free, provided it is accurate and attributed in accordance with this charter: articles, reports, books, research, programming and ticketing. Telling historical facts requires no licence.

9.2Promotion that shows no content from the Collection applies the credits and names set out in this charter.

9.3A written licence from the rights holders is required for any use of protected elements: recordings, photographs and other images, writings of Claude Nobs, and the “Claude Nobs” and “Funky Claude” trademarks. This applies in particular to record and audiovisual releases, online distribution, public screenings, exhibitions and immersive experiences, events and brand campaigns.

9.4The same applies to the use of Claude Nobs’ name, image, voice or signature to promote a product, a service, a venue or a brand, and to any communication suggesting a link, an endorsement or a partnership with Montreux Sounds SA, the Claude Nobs Foundation or Claude Nobs.

9.5Montreux Sounds SA and the Claude Nobs Foundation expressly reserve the use of the Collection’s recordings and media, and of Claude Nobs’ image and voice, for text and data mining, for training or fine-tuning artificial intelligence systems, and for generating or altering a performance. Such use requires a specific licence from the rights holders and the artists concerned, and from RTS for the editions up to 1986, subject to the exceptions provided by law. Work carried out within the Montreux Jazz Digital Project remains governed by its own agreements. This reservation does not cover the text of this charter, which anyone may reproduce freely, citing its source.

9.6Without a licence or a title of one’s own, use is limited to the accurate information described in § 9.1.

10. Contacts

10.1Montreux Sounds SA, for recordings, credits, trademarks, commercial licences and hospitality at the Chalets: Claude Nobs Chalets, 1824 Caux/Montreux Switzerland; info@montreuxsounds.com; www.montreuxsounds.com.

10.2Claude Nobs Foundation, for the preservation of the Collection, the UNESCO inscription, the Montreux Jazz Digital Project, teaching and research: Claude Nobs Chalets, 1824 Caux/Montreux Switzerland; info@claudenobsfoundation.com; www.claudenobsfoundation.com.

10.3Requests concerning Claude Nobs’ name, image, voice or writings may be addressed to either entity, which will forward them to his universal legatee.

11. Final provisions

Responsibility: Montreux Sounds SA and the Claude Nobs Foundation.

11.1This charter is published for information and reference. It constitutes neither a licence nor a waiver and amends no contract. For the public, its rules on credits and names are recommendations; the licence requirement derives from the rights recalled in sections 1, 4 and 5. Contracts in force prevail between their parties; licensees and partners remain bound by their own commitments, which may go beyond this charter.

11.2The rights of RTS, of the Montreux Jazz Festival Foundation and of artists, authors, composers, their record labels and publishers are recalled here for information; their holders exercise them themselves. All rights reserved.

11.3The dated online version is authoritative. In the event of any discrepancy between the French and English versions, the French version prevails.