Licenses

"Open access" not only signifies that publications are freely accessible but also that they can be reused by others. Licenses are employed to specify the terms of such reuse. One well-known licensing model is detailed below: Creative Commons.

Creative Commons: Flexible licenses for Open Access

Creative Commons¹ is a non-profit organization that has developed a modular system for license agreements. These standard licenses allow creators to either protect their works or make them widely accessible. In the Open Access sector, many major academic publishers rely on Creative Commons licenses.

The Building Blocks of Creative Commons Licenses

Each license combines specific elements, represented by abbreviations:

Attribution (BY) – The creator must be credited.
Non-Commercial (NC) – The work may not be used for commercial purposes.
No Derivatives (ND) – The work may not be modified.
Share Alike (SA) – Derivative works must be released under the same license.

Six License Models for Individual Flexibility

By combining these four building blocks, six different standard licenses are created. They offer varying degrees of openness and usage rights.

Authors retain copyright – free reuse is possible

Scientific publications are inherently protected by copyright. Without explicit permission, they cannot be freely reused—except under citation rights. However, Creative Commons licenses allow authors to define the conditions under which their works may be used. These licenses provide a legally secure way to make academic contributions freely accessible, copyable, and shareable—without requiring separate approval for each use. The moral rights of authors always remain protected.

Learn more ²

Is a specific license recommended?

The University of Bonn does not prescribe a specific license in its Open Access Policy³ but supports publication under an open license. From a science policy perspective, CC BY is often recommended—among others by the German Science and Humanities Council⁴ .

The DFG also advises using open licenses in academia⁵. CC BY and CC BY-SA align with the Open Access definition of the Berlin Declaration⁶.

Do CC licenses encourage plagiarism?

No, Creative Commons licenses do not encourage plagiarism, as all license models fundamentally require attribution of the original authors. According to Good Research Practice⁷, external publications must not be presented as one’s own work. Plagiarism results from individual misconduct, not from legal frameworks.

Which license should I choose for a "DEAL" journal?

DEAL⁸ authors can find information on licensing⁹ on the project’s website. Within the DEAL project, one of the most open Creative Commons licenses should be chosen whenever possible, depending on the specific agreement terms¹⁰ with the publisher and institutional Open Access policies. The DEAL consortium recommends: OA means CC BY¹¹ .

Does a NC license protect my research from misuse?

No, because scientific publications are always publicly accessible. An NC license can restrict commercial use, but in academia, the boundary is often unclear. Additionally, it does not protect ideas, facts, or inventions—for that, patents are required. An NC license does not provide full control over how scientific content is used.

Furthermore, CC licenses do not mean that researchers must forgo all protections related to research integrity. Copyright itself provides certain means against the misuse of publications¹².

Video recommendation: The NC license in academia¹³

Which CC license should I use for a book?

The choice of the right Creative Commons license for a book depends on your own goals: Should it be as freely reusable as possible, or should certain restrictions apply? Researchers can decide whether to allow modifications (e.g., CC BY vs. CC BY-ND) or to exclude commercial use (CC BY-NC). A comprehensive guide is available in the OA Books Toolkit¹⁴. More information about Open-access books¹⁵.

Licenses

Creative Commons: Flexible licenses for Open Access

The Building Blocks of Creative Commons Licenses

Six License Models for Individual Flexibility

Authors retain copyright – free reuse is possible

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