Copyright
Germany’s new Copyright Act for a Knowledge-Based Society (UrhWissG) entered into force on March 1, 2018.
This law governs, among other things, the academic and scholarly use of copyrighted materials in Germany. In the past, usage in these contexts was limited by §§ 44a to 63a of the German Copyright Act (UrhG). These provisions have now been merged into § 60a et seq. UrhWissG. The law is initially limited to 5 years and is to be evaluated after 4 years.
Important!
Daily newspapers and comparable media products may no longer be uploaded to Moodle! This change does not apply retroactively, meaning Moodle and other learning platforms do not need to be scoured of any previous uploads, and the change only applies to uploads made on or after March 1, 2018. Quotations from newspaper articles may still be uploaded if they make up less than 15% of the article’s total content.
Newspaper articles are still permitted to be shown in the classroom (i.e. with a projector), but photographing or otherwise recording said articles is prohibited.
A summary of the key points of this new copyright law for students and teachers can be found at the following links:
Hinweise für Bibliotheksbenutzer/innen: Kopieren (analog und digital) von Büchern und Musiknoten
Lernplattformen (elektronische Semesterapparate) an Hochschulen ab 01. März 2018
Informationen zu § 60a UrhG von ELAN e.V.
Neues Urheberrecht für Bildung und Wissenschaft von iRights.info
Legal texts can be found at the following links:
Act on Copyright and Related Rights complete by BMJV
Bundesgesetzblatt zum UrhWissG vom 01. September 2017
Gesetzentwurf der Bundesregierung zum UrhWissG mit Anmerkungen vom 07. April 2017