Open Science – whether it involves Open Access publishing, working with scientific data, or sharing information via the internet – places increased demands on the scientific community to navigate relevant legal regulations and understand the possibilities and conditions for using various information sources.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that researchers act both as creators/authors and as users of other authors’ work.
Why is understanding legislation important?
To safely operate in the open science environment as both authors and users of copyrighted works, researchers need to be familiar with the following areas:
- Copyright law and its basic principles
- Licensing of copyrighted works
- Legal protection of databases
- Protection of personal data
Copyright: the cornerstone
Before publishing their work, every author should clarify whether and how they can manage their work. In many cases, usage rights are governed by legal regulations, contracts with publishers, or funding providers. It is important to know:
- What is considered a copyrighted work
- Which works are protected by copyright and which are not
- What rights belong to the author
- What are the conditions for using authors’ works
Licensing: share your work smartly
Authors have the right to decide how their works will be used. This can be arranged through:
- A license agreement
- Public licenses, such as Creative Commons (CC), which allow for easy and transparent setting of sharing conditions
Research data & law
Working with scientific data also brings legal questions:
- Legal protection of databases and data
- Protection of personal data – including concepts like anonymization and pseudonymization
These aspects are especially important in projects that deal with sensitive data or require compliance with legal standards (e.g., GDPR).