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Creative Commons Licences


Copyright Law in its current form makes it difficult to reuse publications. By using open licenses such as Creative Commons licenses (CC licenses), you can control how to make your publication available for further use in a legally secure way, without giving up your rights.

Moral rights of the author, i.e. authorship itself, are not affected by a CC license. Authors must be credited and cited correctly in every use. CC licenses can help to break down barriers to the dissemination of knowledge in research and science. For this reason, the German science organizations published an appeal for the use of open licenses in science in 2014, recommending the use of such licenses.

Applying a CC license to your publication is only possible if you own all rights of use. If you transferred exclusive rights to the publisher during the first publication and only received the simple right to publish online, you may publish your contribution a second time - however, granting a CC license is not possible because you no longer have the necessary rights.

The transfer of usage rights is done via a standard license that you choose when registering your publication on the publication server. If the publication is subject to a CC license, a link in the imprint as well as in the publication record refers to the legally binding license agreement. Moreover, essential terms of the license are listed in short form, for example: Creative Commons - Attribution 4.0


Available licenses for publishing on the publication server

Copy Right Protection

This publication is protected by copyright and/or related rights. Users can use the publication in any form permitted by the German Copyright Act (UrhG) and/or relevant related rights. For other types of use, the consent of the rights holder must be requested.

A publication under these conditions is not Open Access compliant, as subsequent use according to Open Access principles is not possible.


CC BY
Attribution, 4.0 International

This license allows content to be reproduced, distributed, and publicly performed. Adaptations may be made and distributed. Content may be used commercially under the following conditions:  Authors or copyright holders must be credited. This does not apply to quotations and works that are used in the publication on the basis of another permission.

This license is based on the international Creative Commonsinitiative. This license is Open Access compliant and is recommended as a standard license, as subsequent use according to Open Access principles is possible.


CC BY-SA
Attribution, Share Alike, 4.0 International

This license allows content to be reproduced, distributed, and publicly performed under the following conditions: Authors or rights holders must be credited. Content may be used for commercial purposes. Content may be modified (including translations). The modified version may only be distributed under the conditions stated here.

This license is based on the international Creative Commonsinitiative. The granting of this license is problematic with regard to Open Access, as (legal) compatibility problems may arise when differently licensed works are combined with each other.


CC BY-NC
Attribution, Non-Commercial, 4.0 International

This license allows content to be reproduced, distributed and publicly performed under the following conditions: Authors or rights holders must be credited. Content may not be used for commercial purposes. Content may be modified (including translations).

This license is based on the international Creative Commonsinitiative. The granting of this license is not Open Access compliant, as subsequent use according to Open Access principles is only possible in a restricted manner.

CC BY-NC-SA
Attribution, Non-Commercial, Share Alike, 4.0 International

This license allows content to be reproduced, distributed and publicly performed under the following conditions: Authors or rights holders must be credited. Content may not be used for commercial purposes. Content may be modified (including translations). The modified version may only be distributed under the conditions stated here.

This license is based on the international Creative Commonsinitiative. The granting of this license is not Open Access compliant, as subsequent use according to Open Access principles is only possible in a restricted manner.


CC BY-NC-ND
Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivative Works, 4.0 International

This license allows content to be reproduced, distributed, and publicly performed under the following conditions: Authors or rights holders must be credited. Content may not be used for commercial purposes. Content may not be edited or otherwise modified for publication.

This license is based on the international Creative Commonsinitiative. The granting of this license is not Open Access compliant, as subsequent use according to Open Access principles is only possible in a restricted manner.