Rights notices and licenses

Which licenses play a role on Gutenberg Open Science?

The publication on Gutenberg Open Science is done under a standardized license of the University of Mainz (Deposit License). In addition, by granting a Creative Commons License (CC License), you can specify the modalities of subsequent use of your publication by third parties. The license granted to the University of Mainz and a CC license have in common that both contain copyright regulations. However, they concern different legal relationships.


What is a Deposit License?

As the term deposit license suggests, this is a deposit or archiving license. A written agreement ("license") regulates the rights and obligations between the publisher and the university library. You can view this license agreement here (in German). You can view an English version here. Please note: this is a non-binding translation. Only the German version of this document is legally binding.

Authors transfer the simple right of use of the publications to the University Library. Thus, publication on Gutenberg Open Science does not prevent further publication in journals or monographs or in other electronic systems.

  • The granting of the simple right of use means that you yourself can put your publication online elsewhere (e.g. on your own homepage) or even print it without having to ask the University Library for permission. You can also grant a third party the right to put your publication online elsewhere or to print it. However, you can no longer grant an exclusive right of use to a third party.
  • If other authors are involved in the publication in addition to yourself, you need their permission. Furthermore, by granting rights, you confirm that the publication on Gutenberg Open Science does not infringe the rights of third parties.
  • If your publication has already been published as a published version under the CC-BY-4.0 license with a publisher, then you do not need to submit the deposit license.

Can I still publish my publication with a publisher after I have already published it on Gutenberg Open Science?

It is the responsibility of the authors or editors of the documents to comply with the copyright and exploitation rights of third parties. Numerous publishers allow the parallel publication of documents on full-text servers such as Gutenberg Open Science.


What do I need to know about privacy issues and copyrights?

It is possible that other persons are named in the publication or your research data or were involved in the publication. In this case, you must ensure that the rights of third parties are protected. Please obtain the written consents of the persons involved (dean, reviewer, supervisor, other persons involved) and keep them in a safe place. The consents can also be obtained in a confirmation by e-mail or in another form. For publication by JGU, it is sufficient for the authors to confirm in the deposit license that the necessary consents have been obtained. You confirm the deposit license and the protection of third-party rights when uploading by clicking on the checkbox "I confirm the license above" and then “Deposit” the publication.

  • If one or more co-authors are involved in your publication or your research data, you need the consent that the co-authors agree to the publication on Gutenberg Open Science.
  • Consent of the supervisors: Authors and supervisors of theses often want the supervisory relationship to be reflected in the publication of the work. This is done by cataloging the name in a designated field as supervisor in the thesis. In addition, there is a link to the authority records of the German National Library's Common Authority File (GND).
  • Consent of the persons providing support: Persons who have provided support in the context of the publication without becoming co-authors are often named in scientific works and theses. These are, for example, persons who have carried out activities in the laboratory or collected data. Publication of the works with the names and corresponding cataloging requires a declaration of consent from these persons under data protection law.
  • Consents regarding scientific acknowledgements or thanks: Scientific works and theses often contain acknowledgements to various persons who are named. The publication of these acknowledgements is only permitted with the consent of the named persons. Cataloging does not take place in this context. In principle, the requirements of the GDPR apply.

What are usage rights and CC licenses?

The CC license determines the relationship to the readers of the publication. This defines the conditions under which the copyrighted content may be used. You have the option of choosing between various specific types of use. The use of a CC license is not mandatory but is recommended by renowned organizations such as the German National Library (DNB), as this creates legal certainty for users regarding permitted uses. CC licenses are now well known and are explained in a comprehensible manner.


Which licenses are offered on Gutenberg Open Science for the publication of content?

Only in legally justified exceptional cases can a publication be made under the conditions of copyright (In Copyright). As a rule, one of the following CC licenses is selected:

Important: Once the document has been published on Gutenberg Open Science, the selected CC license can no longer be changed. Further information on CC licenses can be found in this handout (in German) and on the homepage of Creative Commons.


Which licenses play a role in the publication of research data on Gutenberg Open Science?

Publication in Gutenberg Open Science is subject to a standardized license of Mainz University (deposit license). In addition, you can grant a free license, such as a Creative Commons license (CC license), to further define the rights of use of your publication by third parties. The granting of a license in favor of Mainz University and a CC license have in common that both contain copyright regulations. However, they concern different legal relationships.

As the term deposit license suggests, this is a deposition or archiving license. A written agreement ("license") regulates the rights and obligations between the publisher and the university library. You can view this license agreement here (in German). You can view an English version here. Please note: this is a non-binding translation. Only the German version of this document is legally binding.

Authors transfer the simple right of use of the publications to the University Library. Thus, publication on Gutenberg Open Science does not prevent further publication in journals or monographs or in other electronic systems.

The licenses, such as the CC licenses, determine the relationship to the readers of the publication. This defines the conditions under which the copyrighted content may be used. You have the option of choosing between various specific types of use (e.g. copying, saving or making digitally accessible).

The licenses at a glance:

Important: Once the document has been published on Gutenberg Open Science, the selected CC license can no longer be changed.

You can find more information on this at forschungsdaten.info: https://www.forschungsdaten.info/praxis-kompakt/english-pages/legal-issues/


Can I publish Open Access if my work is published by a publisher?

A second publication can also significantly increase the reach and reception of your publication. In its Open-Access-Policy, the University of Mainz therefore explicitly encourages researchers to take advantage of this opportunity.

In the case of a second publication in Open Access, a publication that has already appeared elsewhere and is subject to costs or subscriptions is made freely available in a repository with a certain time delay. A distinction is made between institutional repositories such as Gutenberg Open Science, which are operated by one (scientific) institution, and disciplinary repositories which specialize in certain subject areas and work across institutions. The OpenDOAR service provides an international directory of repositories.

The right of secondary publication is generally reserved for the authors. However, the possibilities for this vary from publisher to publisher and can be found on the provider's website or in the SHERPA/RoMEO directory. There you will also find information on whether the so-called "Publisher PDF" (the version published by the publisher) or the "Accepted Version" (the version of the manuscript accepted after review) may be used.

Irrespective of these regulations of the individual publishers, authors have had a legal right of secondary publication since 2014 if their publication is first published by a German publisher. This right, which is regulated in Section 38 (4) UrhG, is subject to the following conditions:

  • They must be scientific publications from public funding.
  • The right applies only to contributions in periodical publications (e.g. magazines, collections).
  • The second publication may not be made before 12 months after the first publication.
  • Only the manuscript version accepted by the publisher may be used.
  • The secondary publication may not be made for commercial purposes.
  • The exact bibliographical data of the first publication must be given with the second publication.

If you would like to use Gutenberg Open Science to upload a secondary publication, please contact us, e-mail: publikationssysteme@ub.uni-mainz.de

See this list from TUUB for information on publishers guidelines for reuse of journal articles in dissertations and on cumulative dissertations.


Where can I find further information about licenses and copyright?