Publishing in the FIS

There are three different types of versions, some of which are referred to by different names:

• Submitted version (preprint, author's manuscript, original/submitted manuscript, first draft or similar)
  First draft of the manuscript that was submitted; before peer review; may differ from the published version

• Accepted version (postprint, AAM, author accepted manuscript, accepted manuscript, final draft, final author version)
  Final manuscript version after peer review but before formatting by the publisher; may contain publisher's corrections; usually corresponds to the published version in terms of content, but may differ in layout and external appearance

• Published version (publisher's version, publisher's PDF, published version, version of record, final version)
  Published version of the manuscript with publisher's formatting, layout, logo, etc.

Please upload the file in the appropriate version (submitted/accepted/published version). If you do not have the file yourself, it often helps to ask co-authors or the journal or publisher. The direct2aam tool can be helpful when searching for accepted versions.

Licences regulate the rights of use for your publication. This way, you determine who may redistribute, modify or otherwise utilize your publication under which conditions. For first publications according to Open Access principles, we recommend the Creative Commons CC BY licence.

Further information

The term "embargo" refers to the period that can be specified by the publisher between the date of first publication and the earliest possible date of secondary publication. As a rule, this period is 6-24 months for works published independently.

The thus calculated possible date of online publication (after the embargo period) can be entered in the FIS.

Sherpa Romeo is a research tool for querying general publishing guidelines (so-called policies) with regards to secondary publications depending on the publication version in terms of embargo periods, licence, place of publication. The focus is on journals.

Sherpa Romeo does not provide any legally binding information; in case of doubt, the publisher's contract or the policies linked on the publisher's website apply.

The information available via Sherpa Romeo is also directly integrated in the FIS via an interface and can be viewed in the course of a secondary publication.

A secondary publication is possible if you did not grant the publisher an exclusive right of use for the first publication, but only a simple right of use. Otherwise, you need the publisher's consent. You can find your rights of use in the author's contract, which may have been concluded prior to publication.

Even many publishers who insist on an exclusive right of use usually allow a secondary publication on a repository after an embargo period of 6 - 24 months. If a secondary publication is provided for in the publishing agreement, please observe the regulations made there, for example regarding the permitted version of the publication, the licence or other requirements.

It is best not to transfer exclusive rights of use to the publisher. There are several ways to do this. Cross out formulations that grant the publisher exclusive rights to make the work available to the public or add an addendum to the contract that reserves you the simple right of use for a secondary publication (secondary exploitation right) of your publication on a repository. In order to be legally valid, such amendments must be countersigned by the publisher.

Example: Sparc Author Addendum

Further information and text modules: OA-Network

Since 2014, the Copyright Act (UrhG) has also opened up secondary publication to you under certain conditions in §38 (legal text in German).

§38 Para. 1-2  

If you did not enter into a contract or other agreement with the publisher when your work was first published in a journal or anthology, the full right of use reverts to you as the author after one year, according to Section 38 (1-2) UrhG. You have the right to release the published version of your article under a licence of your choice. For publication in an anthology, this provision only applies if you did not receive any remuneration from the publisher for the first publication.

§38 Para. 4  

§Section 38(4) regulates your right as an author for secondary publication even if a contract has been concluded and an exclusive right of use has been granted. The conditions are: the research results have been published after 2014 in a collection that appears periodically at least twice a year and German law applies to the contract. The research results may be published in the FIS in the "accepted manuscript version" under the licence "German copyright" with an embargo period of 12 months.

The University of Bamberg has acquired open access rights for secondary publication from some publishers as part of the alliance and national licences. These rights often exceed the possibilities laid down in general publishing guidelines and can enable the secondary publication of a better manuscript version at more favourable conditions. They also offer immediate legal certainty due to the contractual stipulation.

With the copyright confirmation, you as the submitter transfer the simple and permanent right of use of the digital document for the publication in the FIS to Bamberg University Library on behalf of all registered persons involved. You confirm that no other rights of use conflict with this transfer and that no rights of third parties are infringed by the publication of the document and the third-party text and/or images contained therein. You also confirm that in cases of doubt or if alleged or actual legal obstacles arise in this regard, you will inform Bamberg University Library of this without delay. You permit Bamberg University Library and the German National Library to store the document and the attached metadata, to make them publicly accessible in data networks and to convert them into other data formats.