The legal basis for authors choosing open access publishing lies in Section 12 of the German Urheberrechtsgesetz [de] (Copyright Act), which covers Urheberrecht (authors' rights).[3]
"The Federal Ministry of Education and Research released its open access strategy paper entitled "Open Access in Germany" on September 20, 2016, which contains a clear commitment to the principles of open access and open science.[1]
Journals
Open access journals can be found on digital platforms such as Copernicus Publications (headquartered in Göttingen), Digital Peer Publishing [de], German Medical Science [de], and Living Reviews.[1]
Repositories
There are a number of collections of scholarship in Germany housed in digital open access repositories.[4] They contain journal articles, book chapters, data, and other research outputs that are free to read. As of March 2018 some 161 institutions in Germany maintain repositories, according to the UK-based Directory of Open Access Repositories.[4]
Listings of German repositories can be found in the Germany-based registries Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE) and Deutsche Initiative für Netzwerkinformation (DINI), and in international registries Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR), Registry of Open Access Repositories (ROAR), and Open Archives Initiative's OAI-PMH Registered Data Providers.[5] Experts consider BASE the most comprehensive registry for Germany.[5]
"Open-Access-Tage" (Open Access Days) have occurred annually since 2007 in various German-speaking locales, including Berlin, Dresden, Göttingen, Hamburg, Köln, Konstanz, Munich, Regensburg.[8] The 2018 event will be held in Graz, Austria.
In 2007 several German institutions launched the general information website, "Open-access.net". The Allianz der Wissenschaftsorganisationen [de] in 2008 initiated an effort to expand open access in order to "exhaust the potential of digital publishing."[9]
Bielefeld University Library hosts the "Transparent Infrastructure for Article Charges" project, which covers article processing charges for publications of Germany and elsewhere. The project began around 2014.
Timeline
Key events in the development of open access in Germany include the following:
"Transparent Infrastructure for Article Charges" project begins (approximate date).
2015
Berlin-based Springer Nature, "the world’s second largest academic publisher," in business. As of 2018 "open-access journals generate roughly 10 per cent of Springer Nature’s research revenues."[18][19]
^ a b"Germany". Directory of Open Access Repositories. United Kingdom: University of Nottingham. Archived from the original on 6 February 2009. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
^ a b c dPaul Vierkant (2013). "2012 Census of Open Access Repositories in Germany: Turning Perceived Knowledge Into Sound Understanding". D-Lib Magazine. 19 (11/12). doi:10.1045/november2013-vierkant.
^"Openrepositories.org". Retrieved 12 March 2018.
^"Berlin Open Access Conference Series". Oa2020.org. Munich: Max Planck Digital Library. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
^"Open-Access-Tage". Open-access.net (in German). Retrieved 12 March 2018.
^"Core Activities: Scientific publication system". Schwerpunktinitiative Digitale Information der Allianz der deutschen Wissenschaftsorganisationen. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
^"Browse by Country: Germany". ROARMAP: Registry of Open Access Repository Mandates and Policies. United Kingdom: University of Southampton. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
^Nancy Pontika (ed.). "Timeline 2006". Open Access Directory. United States: Simmons School of Library and Information Science. OCLC 757073363. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
^C. Bruch; et al. (2015), Positions on creating an Open Access publication market which is scholarly adequate: Positions of the Ad Hoc Working Group Open Access Gold in the priority initiative "Digital Information" of the Alliance of Science Organisations in Germany, doi:10.2312/allianzoa.009
^Birgit Schmidt; Iryna Kuchma (2012). Implementing Open Access Mandates in Europe: OpenAIRE Study on the Development of Open Access Repository Communities in Europe. Universitätsverlag Göttingen. ISBN 978-3-86395-095-8 – via Open Access Publishing in European Networks (OAPEN). (+ via Google Books)
^N. Jahn; M. Tullney (2016). "A study of institutional spending on open access publication fees in Germany". PeerJ. 4: e2323. doi:10.7717/peerj.2323. PMC 4991862. PMID 27602289.
^Birgit Schmidt; Margo Bargheer; Norbert Lossau (2014), "Update on Open Access Developments in Germany", Osinitiative.org, United States
^"Springer Nature warns of "free access" threat to revenues", Financial Times, United Kingdom, 26 April 2018
^"Legal Notice", Springernature.com, retrieved 28 April 2018
Further reading
Johannes Fournier (2007), Information, Infrastructure, Involvement: The open access agenda in Germany (PDF), Berlin 5 Open Access: From Practice to Impact, Padova
Richard Poynder (2009), "Eberhard Hilf, veteran German OA advocate", Open and Shut?, Open Access Interviews, United Kingdom
Thomas Eger; et al. (2015). "Determinants of Open Access Publishing: Survey Evidence from Germany". European Journal of Law and Economics. 39. (2013 version )
Eelco Ferwerda; Frances Pinter; Niels Stern (2017), "Country Study: Germany", Landscape Study on Open Access and Monographs: Policies, Funding and Publishing in Eight European Countries, Knowledge Exchange, doi:10.5281/zenodo.815932
"A bold open-access push in Germany could change the future of academic publishing", Sciencemag.org, 2017
Walt Crawford (2018). "Germany". Gold Open Access by Country 2012-2017. United States: Cites & Insights Books.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Open access (publishing) in Germany.
"Browse by Country: Europe: Germany". Registry of Open Access Repositories. United Kingdom.
"(Search: Country of Publisher: Germany)". Directory of Open Access Journals. United Kingdom: Infrastructure Services for Open Access.
Peter Suber (ed.). "(Germany)". Open Access Tracking Project. Harvard University. OCLC 1040261573. News and comment from the worldwide movement for open access to research
"Our members: Germany". Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition. SPARC Europe.