Copyright Law

Any personal, intellectual, individual, creative creation (proof of priority, originality, and minimum creativity) that is recognizable as a work of literature, science, or art and has been manifested on a medium (such as paper, file, data carrier, etc.).

According to Section 64 of the German Copyright and Related Rights Act (UrhG), copyright expires 70 years after the death of the longest-living author. After that, the works enter the public domain and can be used freely.

Official works, such as laws, regulations, and official decrees or announcements, are in the public domain and may be used freely.

Sections 60a-h of the German Copyright and Related Rights Act (UrhG) apply to scientific researchers (including students), scientific teachers (e.g., university lecturers and scientific staff), and individuals with a direct connection to educational institutions.

These sections allow scientific researchers and teachers to reproduce works without the consent of the rights holders, taking precedence over any disadvantageous contractual agreements made after March 1, 2018.

Teachers and researchers (including students) may reproduce up to 75% of a work for their own scientific research (for example, from printed or online monographs). This includes all non-blank pages whose content consists predominantly of text.
Copies made in this way may not be shared with others.

Complete reproduction for personal scientific use is permitted for illustrations; individual articles from the same specialized or scientific journal; other minor works; and out-of-print works, regardless of how long they have been out of print.

According to §60e of the German Copyright Law, the university library may provide paper copies of up to 10% of a medium.
However, articles from professional or scientific journals may be provided in their entirety.
However, the delivery of individual articles from newspapers, general-interest magazines, or newsstand magazines (for example, Der Spiegel or Focus) is not permitted.

Teachers and researchers (including students) may make illustrations (especially photographs) and individual articles from specialist or scientific journals available in full, provided that the source/author is cited.

Other works of minor scope, such as poems and song lyrics (approximately 25 pages for printed works, six pages for sheet music, and five minutes for films and music), out-of-print works (regardless of how long they have been out of print), out-of-print press articles (for which no press archive is available), and works in the public domain (70 years after the death of the longest-living author), may be made available in full provided the source/author is cited.

This provision is only permitted for a limited group of people, including teachers and participants in the respective course, as well as teachers, examiners, and individual third parties at the same educational institution. Concrete and state-of-the-art effective precautions must be taken to ensure this.

Teachers may make up to 15% of a published work available, such as a printed or electronic book, as long as they cite the source and author.

• Reproduction: making copies, for example.
• Distribution: handing out copies, for example.
• Making it available to the public by providing access via an e-learning system, for example.
• Public reproduction in any other way, such as the use of a work in a PowerPoint presentation.

Researchers (including students) may reproduce, distribute, and publicly share a work for noncommercial scientific research purposes (for example, for students) in an amount not exceeding 15%. This provision applies to a specific group of people (such as a seminar or lecture group) for their own scientific research, as well as to individual third parties, provided that it serves to review the quality of scientific research.
All pages consisting predominantly of text are counted for up to 15%; there is no page limit.

This provision is only permitted for a limited group of people, including teachers and participants of the respective event, as well as teachers, examiners, and individual third parties conducting their own scientific research at the same educational institution. Concrete and state-of-the-art effective precautions must be taken to ensure this.

According to Section 60a of the German Copyright Act (UrhG), up to 15 percent of a published work may be reproduced, distributed, made publicly available, or otherwise publicly reproduced for noncommercial purposes, such as illustrating teaching and instruction at educational institutions (such as universities). Illustrations, individual articles from specialist or scientific journals, and other minor works (25 pages for printed works, 6 pages for sheet music, 5 minutes for films and music) may be used in their entirety, as may out-of-print works.

It is important to note that this is only permitted for use by teachers and participants in the respective event. Although Section 60a UrhG covers digital formats, free access on the internet and general access within the institution are not permitted.

If (possibly modified) license agreements do not permit use for educational videos (which may be freely available without access restrictions), the right to quote may be helpful in individual cases. Section 51 (1) of the German Copyright Act (UrhG) states: “The reproduction, distribution, and public communication of a published work for the purpose of quotation is permissible, provided that the extent of the use is justified by the specific purpose.”

Therefore, individuals dealing with quoted material in an academic context who quote only what is absolutely necessary for the discussion may invoke the right to quote.

The source of the quotation must be indicated.

E-books may be used within the scope of negotiated license agreements. The terms and conditions are stored in the Database-Information System (DBIS).

Starting March 1, 2018, the reproduction, distribution, and public display of schoolbooks in schools is permitted only with the prior consent of the publisher, in accordance with Section 60a(3)(2) of the German Copyright and Related Rights Act (UrhG).

At universities, reproducing, distributing, and publicly performing up to 15% of a textbook is permitted for teaching and research purposes.

Starting March 1, 2018, graphic recordings of musical works, particularly sheet music, may be used for scientific research but not for teaching.