Copyright
In Germany, the Copyright Act (UrhG) regulates the rights and obligations of authors and the protection of intellectual property created by the author.
The author is the person who creates his or her own work. These can be pictures, inventions, written works, art objects, computer programs, photographic works and much more.
As soon as an author makes an idea public in any way (as a physical manifestation or as an electronic file), copyright applies to the work. It is not necessary to "register" a copyright as is the case in industrial property law.
The Copyright Act
In summary: almost everything is copyrighted - be careful when reproducing content of any kind!
The copyright law is very extensive. It defines the author's reproduction, exploitation and performance rights. The limitations of copyright law are particularly important because they affect the following aspects of freedom of science:
- Public reproduction, making available to the public for teaching and research,
- Reproduction of works at electronic reading stations in public libraries, museums and archives,
- Copies for private and other own use, copies dispatch on order
New: since spring 2018 there have been some changes in the Copyright Act which affect universities and colleges in particular.
ou can read the exact wording of the law under "Gesetz über Urheberrecht und verwandte Schutzrechte".